AG James orders NYU Langone to resume transgender youth services

The New York Attorney General’s Office has ordered NYU Langone to resume transgender services for youths under 19 after the hospital system said it would end services, citing the "regulatory environment" and threat of losing federal funds.

NYU Langone announced last month it was ending certain treatments for teens diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

A Feb. 25 letter from state Attorney General Letitia James' office cited New York’s discrimination laws and advised NYU Langone to "immediately resume all service offerings as they had before the change in policy," including providing treatment for patients under 19, providing puberty-blocking medications and hormone therapies, according to the attorney general’s office.

The letter said the hospital system had 10 business days to comply with the state’s order or face additional action by the attorney general.

Officials said the attorney general’s office received complaints from patients and families who were told that NYU Langone was closing its Transgender Youth Health Program "and ceasing care for these transgender and nonbinary patients" while medication was still available for other teenage patients.

"NYU Langone appears to be suddenly and indefinitely canceling transgender children’s future appointments, thereby jeopardizing access to medically necessary health care for some the most vulnerable New Yorkers," the attorney general’s letter said.

NYU Langone officials declined to comment on the attorney general’s letter, pointing to its original statement.

"Given the recent departure of our medical director, coupled with the current regulatory environment, we made the difficult decision to discontinue our Transgender Youth Health Program," hospital officials said in the statement.

On its website under transgender care for adolescent, the hospital says it provides psychological counseling for families but lists no additional services.

Attorney general’s officials said there has been no change in federal law regarding transgender care for youth. State law "prohibits discrimination based on a patient’s membership in a protected class, including sex, gender identity, and disability.

"The threat of federal funds being withheld or rescinded because of the provision of gender-affirming care does not excuse providers’ and medical institutions’ existing duties and obligations under New York law," the attorney general’s letter said. "NYU Langone’s change in policy is self-imposed."

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposed changes in December that would cut Medicare and Medicaid programs for hospitals that perform "sex-rejecting procedures on children under the age of 18."

The same rules would apply to federal funding for the Children Health Insurance Program, which provides low-cost health care to families and pregnant women whose income may not qualify for Medicaid.

The attorney general’s office has challenged the federal proposals. State officials said the proposed changes "are not final actions and do not change NYU Langone’s obligations to its patients or its eligibility to participate in federal programs.

"In sum, no federal action has changed the law; medically necessary health care for transgender adolescents remains legal and covered by federal programs,: the attorney general’s letter states. "The sudden discontinuation of medically necessary transgender health care can have severe, negative health outcomes."

By John Asbury

john.asbury@newsday.comJohnAsbury

John Asbury is a breaking news and general assignment reporter. He has been with Newsday since 2014 and previously worked at The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, California.