Transgender Adults in Florida Caught Off Guard by New Law Restricting Access to Healthcare

Florida’s recent law on gender-affirming care has primarily sparked debates surrounding transgender children. However, to the surprise of many, the law also poses significant challenges for transgender adults seeking treatment. Signed by Governor Ron DeSantis, who is also a Republican presidential candidate, the law has left many transgender adults feeling blindsided and struggling to access the necessary care.

Eli and Lucas, a couple of transgender men, closely followed the discussions in the Legislature. While Democrats warned of increased suicide risks for trans children due to the ban on gender-affirming care, Republicans offered misplaced stories of distorted facts. Eli expressed feeling blindsided when they discovered that the bill’s language would also disrupt their lives.

“There was no communication… Nobody was really talking about it in our circles,” explained Eli, who is 29 years old.

Like many transgender adults in Florida, Eli and Lucas now face difficult choices, including the possibility of uprooting their lives in order to continue receiving gender-confirming care. Furthermore, healthcare clinics are grappling with how to navigate the regulations that have turned Florida into a test case for adult healthcare restrictions.

Lucas, 26, lost access to treatment when the Orlando clinic that provided his hormone replacement therapy discontinued gender-affirming care altogether. The couple is also concerned about staying in a state that has enacted several other bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community.

“My entire life is here. All my friends, my family. I just got a promotion at my job, which I’m probably not going to be able to keep,” said Lucas, who works in a college’s financial aid office. “I’m losing everything except Eli and my pets moving out of here. So this was not a decision that I took lightly at all.”

Due to concerns about reprisals, Eli and Lucas have chosen to withhold their last names. While their friends and families are aware of their transgender identities, most people they encounter do not know.

In addition to banning gender-affirming care for minors, the new law mandates that adult patients seeking transgender healthcare sign an informed consent form. It also requires physician oversight for any transitioning-related healthcare, with in-person visits being necessary. These rules prove particularly burdensome as many people previously received care from nurse practitioners and utilized telehealth services. The law also criminalizes violations of these new requirements.

Another law permits doctors and pharmacists to refuse treatment for transgender individuals, further limiting their options.

“For trans adults, it’s devastating,” said Kate Steinle, chief clinical officer at FOLX Health, a provider of gender-affirming care for trans adults via telemedicine. FOLX Health has decided to open in-person clinics and hire additional physicians licensed in Florida to continue caring for patients who have already enrolled, despite the significant changes to the company’s business model.

Eli has been receiving care from a physician for years and still has access to treatment. However, SPEKTRUM Health Inc., the Orlando clinic that prescribed hormone replacement therapy for Lucas, has ceased providing gender-affirming care.

“There are a lot of people looking for care that we’re no longer legally able to provide,” stated Lana Dunn, SPEKTRUM Health’s chief operating officer.

Florida is home to an estimated 94,900 transgender adults, making it the state with the second-largest population of transgender adults in the U.S., according to the Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. However, not all transgender individuals seek medical interventions.

While at least 19 states have enacted laws restricting or banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, limitations on adults have not been a significant part of the conversation in most places. Missouri’s attorney general attempted to impose a similar rule, but it was later retracted.

Dunn described Florida as “the proving ground of what they can get away with.” Her organization currently provides care for approximately 4,000 individuals, most of whom reside in Florida, with some receiving telehealth services from out of state. While SPEKTRUM has expanded its mental health services since the law’s passage, the organization and others heavily relied on nurse practitioners to deliver care.

Dunn estimates that 80% of transgender adults in Florida, who previously received healthcare from nurse practitioners, have now lost access to care.

“Right now, what we’re seeing in the community is just chaos,” Dunn expressed.

The law also contains provisions that Dunn believes could deter doctors who would otherwise be willing to treat transgender patients, such as a 20-year statute of limitations to sue over care they provide.

As a transgender woman herself, Dunn is grappling with losing her own access to hormones while attempting to provide support to terrified patients. This has taken “a significant emotional toll” on her.

“Not only am I faced with this lack of care for myself, but a lot of people within the community are also facing the same thing, and they’re reaching out to me for guidance,” said Dunn. “So I’m doing my best to help guide people and console them, but nobody’s really reaching out to me saying, ‘How are you doing? Are you okay?'”

Lucas, who transitioned at 18, eight years ago, anticipates running out of hormone treatments in June. Under the best-case scenario, he may be able to obtain a new prescription in August. He fears the resurgence of menstruation.

“It’s just going to be extremely difficult mentally to have your body changing in a way that doesn’t align with your brain,” Lucas shared.

Eli and Lucas have transitioned to a month-to-month lease and tentatively plan to relocate to Minnesota in November. They would leave sooner if financially possible and have started an online fundraiser to aid their cause. The logistics and costs of relocating with their dog and two cats add to the difficulty of finding a new place.

“I just never thought it could happen this way, this fast, and to us,” expressed Eli.

Note: The original article was written by Marcy Nicholson Beaty and Emily Schoenbaum and published on the Big Big News website.

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More about transgender healthcare restrictions

• Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Signs Bills Targeting LGBTQ+ Community
• Transgender Healthcare Restrictions in Florida
• Impact of Florida’s New Law on Transgender Adults
• Transgender Healthcare Rights and Advocacy
• Support Organizations for Transgender Individuals