Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to include more information from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Veterans Affairs officials announced Monday they will phase out all medical treatments for gender dysphoria, including hormone therapy and any surgical options for transgender veterans.
In a statement, VA Secretary Doug Collins said that “VA should not be focused on helping veterans attempt to change their sex” and claimed most Americans and veterans would support the decision.
“All eligible veterans — including trans-identified veterans — will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they’ve earned under the law,” Collins said. “But if veterans want to attempt to change their sex, they can do so on their own dime.”
The move came as outside advocates condemned a decision by Veterans Affairs leaders last week to rescind a policy ensuring health care for transgender and intersex veterans, predicting “catastrophic mental and physical health consequences” for patients dependent on the services.
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“[This] decision is a direct attack on the dignity and well-being of transgender, nonbinary, and intersex veterans, one that will have deadly outcomes,” said Lindsay Church, executive director of Minority Veterans of America. “This decision will force our community to defer or delay care and opt out of VA services altogether.
“This decision will exacerbate our already devastatingly high suicide rates and push more veterans into crisis for no reason other than hate. VA is abandoning those who have served, stripping us of critical health care protections, and sending a clear message that our lives and service to our country do not matter.”
On Friday, an internal memo announced the change to VA staff. The withdrawn directive — originally approved in 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term in office — covered both medical care for transgender and intersex veterans as well as “dignity in care,” requiring that staff avoid using derogatory terms or misgendered language when assessing patients.
It also required data collection on those veterans, in an effort to compile more information on the community.
In a statement with the memo withdrawal, VA leaders said the move was made to conform with a presidential executive order from January requiring agencies to use “clear and accurate language and policies that recognize women are biologically female, and men are biologically male.”
They noted that many aspects of transgender care — including gender-affirming surgeries and cosmetic reconstruction surgeries — were not authorized under existing department regulations. Officials in President Joe Biden’s administration had taken steps towards providing those services, but did not finalize those rules.
Acting Under Secretary for Health Steven Lieberman said in the memo that the department will still adhere to “its commitment to provide care to all veterans, including trans-identifying veterans.”
In their statement Monday, VA leaders said that the change “does not affect VA medical care for eligible veterans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer.” They also promised care and treatment to veterans that are compatible with generally accepted standards of medical practice and determined by appropriate health care professionals.”
They did not provide specifics of what those limits mean.
Rachel Branaman, executive director of Modern Military Association of America called the policy rollback “a direct assault on the well-being of vulnerable LGBTQ+ veterans, jeopardizing their access to essential care.
“Combined with the administration’s planned cut of 80,000 VA employees, these actions demonstrate a blatant disregard for the nation’s commitment to those who have served.”
Democratic lawmakers said they will look for ways to stop the change. In a statement, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee ranking member Mark Takano, D-Calif., called the move “shameful and cruel” and accused the department of politicizing veterans’ care.
“The Veterans Health Administration should be focused on supporting and providing quality healthcare to all our veterans, not furthering Republicans’ obsessive attacks on the rights, dignity, and existence of the transgender community,” he said.
VA leaders said they will conduct a review of all transgender veteran care and “undergo the rulemaking process to revise the medical benefits package as deemed necessary.”
Collins said that any money saved from eliminating transgender health care services would be redirected “to help severely injured VA beneficiaries – such as paralyzed veterans and amputees – regain their independence.” Officials did not provide an estimate on how much funding would be shifted under the plan.
The National Center for Transgender Equality has estimated there are more than 134,000 transgender veterans in America today. VA officials said they believe fewer than 9,000 of the department’s 9.1 million veterans enrolled in medical care services are transgender.
Leo covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He has covered Washington, D.C. since 2004, focusing on military personnel and veterans policies. His work has earned numerous honors, including a 2009 Polk award, a 2010 National Headliner Award, the IAVA Leadership in Journalism award and the VFW News Media award.
