VA announces phase-out of gender dysphoria treatment for veterans

VA announced it will no longer offer cross-sex hormone therapy to veterans with a diagnosis or history of, or "symptoms consistent with," gender dysphoria — except veterans already receiving such care from VA, or who were receiving it from the military upon separation and are VA-eligible. VA simultaneously ended voice and communication training, gender-affirming prosthetics (breast forms, chest binders, dilators, packers, compression vests, wigs), and letters of support for surgeries by non-VA providers. Collins stated that "if Veterans want to attempt to change their sex, they can do so on their own dime." The exemption's design means the population receiving VA hormone therapy shrinks permanently as no new patients can enter — and troops separated under the ban after March 2025 without existing prescriptions have no VA pathway to care.