Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Between 2016 And 2019, US Gender-Affirming Surgeries Almost Tripled
The number of gender-affirming surgeries, intended to align patients’ physical appearance with their gender identity, nearly tripled in the United States between 2016 and 2019, according to a new analysis published in JAMA Network Open on Wednesday. The number of procedures rose from about 4,550 in 2016 to about 13,000 in 2019, and then dipped slightly in 2020, according to the study’s estimates. Because of various data limitations, the researchers behind the study believe the true figures are higher. (Baumgaertner, 8/23)
The increase likely reflects expanded insurance coverage for transgender care after the Obama administration and some states actively discouraged discrimination based on gender identity, lead author Dr. Jason Wright of Columbia University said. The dip in 2020 can be attributed to the pandemic. A little more than half the patients were ages 19 to 30. Surgeries in patients 18 and younger, were rare: fewer than 1,200 in the highest volume year. (Johnson, 8/23)
More about LGBTQ+ health —
A Georgia state senator is trying to revive a proposal aimed at stopping teachers from talking to students about gender identity without parental permission, but both gay rights groups and some religious conservatives remain opposed to the bill. (Amy, 8/23)
The Florida State Board of Education voted Wednesday to approve new rules at state colleges for transgender employees and students that are intended to comply with a law, passed in May, restricting access to bathrooms. Colleges will be forced to fire employees who twice use a bathroom other than the one assigned to their sex at birth, despite being asked to leave. And bathroom restrictions also now apply to student housing operated by the colleges. (Goldstein and Edmonds, 8/23)
The small Midwestern gender clinic was buckling under an unrelenting surge in demand. Last year, dozens of young patients were seeking appointments every month, far too many for the clinic’s two psychologists to screen. Doctors in the emergency room downstairs raised alarms about transgender teenagers arriving every day in crisis, taking hormones but not getting therapy. (Ghorayshi, 8/23)
More than 200 blind and low-vision people have signed an open letter requesting that the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) relocate their recently announced 2024 national convention from Orlando, Florida, citing concerns for the safety of LGBTQ+ attendees. (Luterman, 8/23)
