Nurses say political attacks on vulnerable patients have no place in health care

National Nurses United (NNU), the largest union of registered nurses in the United States, today condemns one of President Donald Trump’s latest moves against transgender people: Ending coverage of gender-affirming care in federal workers’ health benefits.

Along with all major medical organizations, NNU maintains that gender-affirming care is evidence-based health care and shouldn’t be subject to political attacks on vulnerable minorities. Nurses have repeatedly spoken out about these attacks, rejecting them and shaming hospital systems that cave in to the administration’s demands. 

Nurses note the fact that the new policy for federal employees only applies to new patients. By including an exemption for on-going treatment, the administration makes clear that they don’t actually have legitimate questions about the safety or efficacy of this treatment. They simply want to prevent more people from accessing this kind of care, part of a broader agenda to close off every possible avenue for transgender people to seek care and even participate in civic life. 

Advocates have long warned that the Trump administration’s campaign against gender-affirming care for youth would extend to impact care for trans patients of all ages. Nurses see this latest move as a clear sign that their campaign against trans people is escalating

As patient advocates, nurses are committed to speaking out against bad policy and speaking up for the patients who will suffer as a result. Whether it is major cuts to federal health care funding, empowering immigration enforcement to terrorize communities and raid sanctuaries like hospitals, or attacking trans health care, nurses know their patients are the ones who will suffer and refuse to remain silent in the face of that suffering.

NNU has repeatedly opposed restrictions on gender-affirming care based on its efficacy for patients. By blocking coverage for potentially life-saving care, this latest policy will cause direct and immediate harm to trans patients. NNU has spoken out against the presidential executive order seeking to bar patients’ access to this care, as well as Supreme Court decisions seeking to restrict care and attempts to end the provision of gender-affirming care to veterans through the Veterans Administration (VA). Nurses in San Francisco recently held a vigil to protest Kaiser Permanente’s decision to cave to political pressure to suspend some gender-affirming care for youth.

NNU represents more than 225,000 nurses across the nation and advocates for patients to improve the lives of nurses and communities everywhere.

National Nurses United is the largest and fastest-growing union and professional association of registered nurses in the United States with more than 225,000 members nationwide. NNU affiliates include California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee, DC Nurses Association, Michigan Nurses Association, Minnesota Nurses Association, and New York State Nurses Association.