California Lawmakers Scramble to Fund Gender-Affirming Care for Minors After Federal Cuts

California lawmakers are urgently seeking to approve $10 million in emergency funding to ensure continued access to gender-affirming care for approximately 1,500 transgender and gender-nonconforming children on Medi-Cal. This comes after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services finalized a rule prohibiting federal reimbursement for such care for minors, effective October 13. Advocates and parents express concern that the state's delayed preparation could lead to gaps in essential medical treatments.