Text of NY S 7924 (2026)

STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7924 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. GONZALEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health AN ACT to amend the public health law and the state finance law, in relation to the gender affirming care program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative intent and findings. A gender affirming care 2 fund shall be maintained and distributed through the department of 3 health. Funds shall be distributed to health care providers and organ- 4 izations who provide gender affirming care to gender expansive individ- 5 uals with and without a diagnosis of gender dysphoria or with or without 6 the distinguishment of the treatment to be medically necessary. The fund 7 shall also be distributed to organizations who have received or previ- 8 ously received federal funding and no longer receive such funding due to 9 the continuation of providing gender affirming care. 10 § 2. Title 2-F of article 2 of the public health law is amended by 11 adding a new section 244-a to read as follows: 12 § 244-a. Gender affirming care program. 1. As used in this section, 13 the following terms shall have the following meanings: 14 (a) "Gender expansive" shall mean a transgender, non-binary, gender 15 non-conforming, or intersex individuals, having a gender identity or 16 expression that is different from the sex assigned to them at birth. 17 (b) "Medically necessary" shall mean health care services or products 18 that a prudent physician would provide to a patient for preventing, 19 diagnosing, or treating an illness, injury, disease, or its symptoms in 20 a manner that is by generally accepted standards of medical practice. 21 (c) "Gender affirming care" shall mean any single or combination of a 22 number of social, psychological, behavioral, or medical (including 23 hormone treatment and/or surgery) interventions designed to support and 24 affirm an individual's gender identity. Such treatments shall include: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11750-02-5 S. 7924 2 1 (i) hormone therapy, hormone antagonists, menstrual suppression, and 2 pubertal suppression therapy; 3 (ii) surgical procedures and revisions to prior surgery, including 4 reversing prior surgeries; 5 (iii) care that supports surgical recovery, including restoration of 6 function, such as 7 (A) non-surgical procedures, such as laser treatment for scars from 8 surgery and medical tattooing to restore function; and 9 (B) pre- and post- operative physical and occupational therapies, such 10 as pelvic floor therapy and hand therapy; 11 (iv) hair removal or restoration; 12 (v) fertility preservation procedures; 13 (vi) durable medical equipment and supplies, such as compression 14 garments, shapewear, prosthetics, and post-operative surgical dressings 15 and devices; 16 (vii) mental health care, including assessment, support letters, and 17 on-going counseling; 18 (viii) voice care, including the assessment and treatment of the voice 19 and related conditions, including the additional domains of speech, 20 language, and communication under the scope of speech-language patholo- 21 gist, otolaryngologists, and other allied voice professionals; and 22 (ix) any other care treatments, surgeries, services, or procedures to 23 support an individual's gender affirming care. 24 (d) "Fund" shall mean the gender affirming care fund established by 25 section ninety-five-l of the state finance law. 26 2. The commissioner shall establish a gender affirming care program. 27 The commissioner shall consult a range of experts including, but not 28 limited to individuals and entities providing gender affirming care, 29 gender affirming funds and other organizations whose mission is to 30 expand access to gender affirming care, to ensure the gender affirming 31 care program structure and expenditures reflect the needs of gender 32 affirming care providers, gender affirming care funds and consumers. 33 3. The commissioner shall distribute funds from the gender affirming 34 care fund established in section ninety-five-l of the state finance law 35 through grants awarded pursuant to this section. In determining funding 36 for applicants under the grant program, the commissioner shall consider 37 the following criteria and goals: 38 (a) Increasing access to care by growing the capacity of gender 39 affirming care providers to meet present and future care needs. Funds 40 may be awarded to support the recruitment and retention of staff, staff 41 training, the establishment of new or renovation of existing health 42 centers, investments in technology to facilitate care, security enhance- 43 ments, and other operational or capital needs that increase access to 44 gender affirming care. 45 (b) Funding uncompensated health care services associated with gender 46 affirming care, to ensure the affordability of and access to care for 47 individuals who lack ability to pay for care, for individuals who lack 48 insurance coverage, are underinsured, or whose insurance is deemed unus- 49 able by the rendering provider. 50 (c) Addressing practical support needs of individuals accessing gender 51 affirming care for individuals who lack ability to pay for such support. 52 4. Funds may only be awarded for treatment or care taking place in New 53 York state. 54 5. The commissioner shall not request, or otherwise require, any 55 gender affirming care provider or non-profit organization receiving 56 moneys from the program to divulge the name, address, photograph, S. 7924 3 1 license number, email address, phone number, or any other individual 2 identifying information of any patient, or individual who sought or 3 received health care services or practical support from a gender affirm- 4 ing care provider or organization under the program. 5 6. Any non-profit organization or gender affirming care provider 6 receiving funds from the program shall take all necessary steps to 7 ensure the confidentiality of the individuals receiving services pursu- 8 ant to the state and federal laws. 9 § 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 95-l to 10 read as follows: 11 § 95-l. Gender affirming care fund. 1. There is hereby established in 12 the joint custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of taxa- 13 tion and finance a fund to be known as the "gender affirming care fund". 14 2. Moneys in the fund shall be used to provide support to gender 15 affirming care providers and non-profit organizations to increase access 16 to care, fund uncompensated care, and address the support needs of indi- 17 viduals accessing gender affirming care, pursuant to the provisions of 18 section two hundred forty-four-a of the public health law. 19 3. The fund shall consist of all moneys appropriated for the purposes 20 of such fund and all moneys appropriated, credited or transferred there- 21 to from any other fund or source pursuant to law. The moneys shall be 22 payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on 23 vouchers approved and certified by the commissioner of health. Interest 24 received by the comptroller on money on deposit in the fund shall be 25 retained in and become part of such fund. 26 § 4. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 27 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or 28 repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of 29 this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed 30 on or before such effective date.