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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Are doctors or insurance companies legally allowed to decline hormone therapy prescriptions to trans patients?

By Kate Lucky
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NO

With few exceptions, health care providers and institutions are not permitted to decline requests from trans patients to receive hormone therapy treatment.

A Trump administration change to rules preventing healthcare discrimination against trans people was blocked by a federal judge in August. For the time being, that leaves in place the Affordable Care Act's prohibitions against healthcare discrimination against trans people.

In some states, religious refusal laws could allow religious providers to refuse hormone treatments. One survey found 12% of trans patients “said a doctor or other health care provider refused to give them health care related to gender transition." It’s unclear if these refusals were based on medical opinions, lack of knowledge or personal beliefs.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
National Center for Transgender Equality: Know your healthcare rights
Govinfo: US District Court ruling blocking new HHS rules
Rewire.news: Legislative tracker—conscience and refusal legislation
Center for American Progress: LGBTQ people, health care, & discrimination
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.