Wednesday, September 23, 2026, 1 p.m. (New York City time), Council Chambers - City Hall
Committee: Committee on Hospitals
The Council's Committees on Mental Health and Substance Use, Hospitals, and Women and Gender Equity held a joint oversight hearing on access to gender-affirming care and associated mental health outcomes for transgender and non-binary youth. Chairs Cabán, Narcisse, and Farías opened the hearing, and Public Advocate Williams delivered remarks supporting expanded access. The administration testified that it opposes federal attacks on gender-affirming care, described a $15 million investment announced in June 2026 (including a direct care access fund, a call/text line, and research funding), and noted that private providers Mount Sinai, NYU Langone, and NewYork-Presbyterian ceased youth gender-affirming care in early 2025, with Mount Sinai and Langone entering DOJ settlement agreements. Three pieces of legislation were discussed: Intro 949 (Council Member Schulman) requiring DOHMH to publish LGBT health and gender-affirming care resources and a searchable map; Resolution 208 (Council Member Hanif) calling for anti-bias training for medical students; and Resolution 547 (Council Member Cabán) calling for state legislation establishing a gender-affirming care program. Numerous members of the public, including trans youth, parents, and advocates, testified in support of the legislation and urged further City action. No votes were taken during the hearing.
0:00 To today's New York City
0:00 council hearing or mental and
0:05 substance use joint joint with
0:06 women gender equity I
0:07 nhospitals at this time I would
0:08 like to remind everyone to
0:11 silence all electronic devices
0:12 . Also at this point going
0:14 forward, nobody's approaching
0:15 ,there's no one chair. We're
0:16 ready to begin
0:24 . Good afternoon and welcome
0:25 to today's hearing on access
0:26 to gender affirming care and
0:28 associated mental health
0:28 outcomes for trans and non
0:31 binary youth. My name is
0:33 Council Member Tiffany callen.
0:34 My pronouns, are she her? I'm
0:35 the chair of the New York City
0:37 council's committee on mental
0:37 health and substance use.
0:40 Thank you. Also to council
0:42 member Narcisse, chair of
0:43 hospitals committee and
0:44 Council Member Farías, chair
0:45 of women and gender equity
0:47 committee for joining our
0:48 committee in holding this
0:51 hearing before we begin. I'd
0:52 like to recognize that we are
0:53 joined by public advocate
0:57 Williams council, Harvey
0:59 Epstein council, Simcha felde
1:01 r, Council Member since you
1:03 swell so and Council Member
1:04 areola on zoom.
1:09 Today the committees are
1:09 convening to discuss access t
1:10 ogender affirming care in New
1:11 York City and its role in
1:13 improving health, mental
1:14 health care outcomes for
1:16 transgender gender, non binary
1:17 youth. It's no secret that
1:19 transgender and non binary New
1:21 yorkers have recently faced a
1:22 barrage of threats, challenges
1:25 and intimidation from the
1:27 federal government, several
1:28 institutions in our City have
1:30 unfortunately capitulated t
1:31 othese pressures and as a City
1:33 we are all worse off for it
1:36 . Gender firming care not only
1:37 allows individuals to live a
1:38 stheir true selves, but it is
1:40 also strongly associated with
1:42 improved mental health
1:43 outcomes for trans and non
1:45 binary people, trans gender,
1:47 non binary youth, especially,
1:48 are disproportionately
1:49 burdened by poor mental health
1:51 outcomes driven by reduced
1:52 social support and heightened
1:54 stigma and discrimination yet
1:55 research consistently shows
1:58 that access to gender
1:59 affirming interventions is
2:01 associated with roughly 60%
2:02 lower odds of moderate to
2:05 severe depression and over 70%
2:08 lower odds of suicidality in
2:11 youth, 70% lower odds of
2:13 suicidality. We not only owe
2:14 it to young transgender gende
2:16 r, non binary New yorkers t
2:16 oprovide them with the care
2:17 that we know can improve their
2:19 lives and their mental health
2:21 but also to protect them from
2:24 harm. And at this moment when
2:25 so many trans and queer people
2:26 in our City are seeing their
2:27 rights being attacked and
2:28 stripped away by the federal
2:30 government and watching
2:31 institutions that they rely on
2:33 for their health care buckle
2:35 under pressure, I stand as a
2:36 queer New yorker in solidarity
2:38 with you. My commitment to you
2:39 . Is that I will do everything
2:40 in my power to work with you
2:42 to keep you safe and to fight
2:43 for our collective liberatio
2:47 ntoday, we'll also be hearing
2:48 Eric pieces of legislation
2:50 relating to our oversight
2:52 topic one introduction 19 49,
2:54 sponsored by council shulman,
2:55 which would require the
2:56 department of health and
2:57 mental hygiene to create an
2:58 dmake available on their
3:01 website lgbt health and gender
3:03 affirming care resources and a
3:04 search map of lgbt plus health
3:08 services resolution 208
3:09 ,sponsored by council hanan,
3:10 which calls on the New York
3:12 state legislature to pass in
3:12 the governor to sign
3:14 legislation that mandates all
3:15 medical students in New York
3:16 state receive anti bias
3:19 training and my own
3:20 legislation, resolution 5 47
3:21 ,which calls on the New York
3:22 state legislature to pass and
3:23 the governor to sign
3:26 legislation which establishes
3:27 and increase access to gender
3:33 affirming care. I would like
3:34 to thank the committee staff
3:34 who worked to prepare for this
3:35 hearing as well as my own
3:36 staff, and I will now pass the
3:38 mic to Council Member. Oh, and
3:40 we're joined. Joined by
3:41 council members all the ball
3:42 and now I will pass it over t
3:44 oco chair counsel council
3:48 member. Hi. Good afternoon. I
3:50 am Council Member Mercedes
3:52 Narcisse of committee on
3:54 hospital. I'm joined by my
3:57 colleagues, Council Member
3:58 Tiffany cab on the chair of
4:00 the committee on mental health
4:02 and substance use and council
4:04 member Amanda Farah, chair of
4:06 the committee on women and
4:10 gender equity. Thank you for
4:11 joining us today for the for
4:13 this oversight hearing on
4:15 access to gender affirming
4:17 care and associated with
4:19 mental health outcomes for
4:21 transgender and non binary
4:24 youth, gender affirming care
4:26 is a model of care that
4:29 include medical, surgical,
4:30 mental health and non medical
4:33 services to support and affirm
4:35 an individual gender identity.
4:39 This type of care can
4:41 include social affirmation
4:44 like adopting gender affirming
4:47 here clothing and names or
4:51 medical affirmation such as
4:54 pew puberty blockers, hormone
4:56 therapy and gender affirming
5:00 certain surgeries, strange
5:00 gender and non battery youth
5:04 experience significantly
5:05 higher rates of anxiety,
5:09 depression, more disorders and
5:11 societal ideations. Then there
5:14 cis gender piers largely due
5:18 to stigma, discrimination and
5:21 social rejection and barriers
5:22 to care that this individual's
5:25 experience, research shows
5:27 that access to gender
5:29 affirming care can
5:31 substantially improve mental
5:32 health outcome for and non
5:38 binary youth despite local
5:39 efforts to support. We know
5:42 that the federal side is not
5:43 on our side. The federal
5:46 government is taking actions
5:48 to limit access to gender
5:51 . Care this actions at the
5:53 federal level present
5:55 challenges for health and
5:58 hospital and image to continu
6:01 eproviding they care that
6:02 people need and deserve, and I
6:02 , our City as a registered
6:06 Nurse and a chair for a
6:07 hospital committee. I am
6:09 committed to ensure that every
6:11 individual and I City get the
6:13 care they deserve and needs to
6:14 get through lives and what we
6:18 need to do is continue pushing
6:22 forward and making sure the
6:24 bigotry around us the policies
6:26 that not on our favors for us
6:29 to continue a them and today
6:31 we look forward to a from New
6:33 York City health and hospitals
6:36 end do about the broader state
6:38 of gender affirming care
6:40 access for our youth across
6:41 the City of New York
6:44 ,including their value. Bility
6:45 of services at h and h
6:48 facilities and the programs
6:50 and other City supported
6:53 efforts.
6:53 Will also say their feedback
6:57 on legislation before the
6:59 committee together we must
7:00 work to ensure that
7:02 transgender and non bonnie
7:03 raitt youth have access to the
7:06 care they deserve and that our
7:09 local hospital in health
7:10 department can continue.
7:11 To provide some services
7:13 before we begin. I'd like t
7:16 othink committee staff, senior
7:19 legislative council. We are
7:20 ogasawara a policy policy
7:22 analyst manure. But as well as
7:24 a committee brand New when
7:28 you're rain ali welcome.
7:32 For their hard work and
7:33 preparing for this hearing are
7:35 also like to thank my staff,
7:38 Frank shady, courtney Lee and
7:41 of course. Dra sheena hollow.
7:43 I would like to recognize that
7:45 we have been john.
7:47 Well, that I miss, we don't
7:49 miss anybody you've got
7:51 everybody, so I was not turn
7:52 it over it, too. Chair for
7:56 eyes
7:56 . Thank you so much. Good
7:57 afternoon, everyone. I'm
7:58 councilmember member Amanda
8:00 Farah, she, her and I get to
8:02 share the committee on women
8:03 and gender equity. We're
8:04 excited to join the committee
8:06 on mental health and substance
8:07 abuse and the committee on
8:08 hospitals and their chairs,
8:10 chair bon enter in our seas
8:12 for today's oversight hearing
8:13 on access to gender affirming
8:15 care and associated mental
8:16 health outcomes for
8:17 transgender and non binary
8:20 youth as stated by my
8:21 colleagues access to gende
8:22 raffirming care is a life
8:24 saving medical necessity that
8:26 dramatically improves the
8:27 mental health and overall well
8:28 being of gender diverse
8:30 transgender and non binary
8:31 children and adolescence
8:34 . Every child deserves to grow
8:35 up, feeling supported in who
8:36 they are and supporting
8:38 transgender and non binary
8:39 youth means defending their
8:40 right to health care
8:43 . Currently access to gender
8:44 affirming care for young
8:44 people is under attack
8:47 nationwide. An analysis by the
8:48 human rights campaign found
8:49 that 27 states, plus puerto
8:51 rico have successfully passed
8:53 bands on gender affirming care
8:55 for transgender and non binary
8:56 youth, affecting 48% of
9:00 transgender youth nationwide,
9:01 a recent survey found that 7%
9:05 of transgender and non bridget
9:07 and young people whose used
9:09 hormones to support their
9:11 gender transition or
9:13 expression, we're concerned
9:13 about losing access to this
9:16 care, these laws interfere
9:17 with the ability of trey,
9:19 their families and their
9:20 providers to make the health
9:22 care decisions that are right
9:24 for them and access the
9:25 medical care they need and can
9:27 have devastating consequences
9:30 .it is well documented that
9:31 trans and non binary children
9:33 experience anxiety and
9:34 suppression at higher rates
9:35 than there's this gender piers
9:37 , according to a 20 25 survey
9:38 published by the trevor
9:41 project transgender and non
9:42 binary young people who are
9:43 le to access the hormones
9:45 they wanted were nearly twice
9:47 as likely to attempt suicide
9:48 than those who could
9:50 additionally four out of 1
9:51 0trans and non binary young
9:53 people seriously considered
9:55 attempting suicide in the last
9:58 year. These young people are
9:59 not inherently at a higher
10:00 risk of these issues rather
10:04 they are in a world that
10:05 fights their existence at
10:07 every.
10:08 Turn these repeated attacks
10:09 would weigh on any adult, so
10:10 it is no surprise that young
10:12 people feel the effects of a
10:13 transphobic environment so
10:16 acutely.
10:17 Gender affirming care is
10:17 backed by decades of research
10:18 and supported by every major
10:20 medical association in the
10:22 united states, representin
10:23 gmore than doctors. Every
10:25 person has the fundamental
10:27 right to access to health care
10:28 discrimination, prejudice or
10:32 barriers to treatment that
10:34 support their mental, physical
10:35 and emotional well being so
10:37 today we'll hear from the
10:38 administration and we'll ask
10:39 how are you ensuring access to
10:41 gender affirming care for
10:43 trans and non binary youth in
10:43 New York City. And where are
10:46 you ensuring that
10:47 accessibility for them. Thank.
10:48 You to the members of the
10:49 committee on women and gender
10:50 equity you have joined us
10:51 today. I'd like to thank our
10:54 committee staff julia
10:55 goldsmith, pinkham, katie,
10:56 selena and ali stauffer as
10:57 well as my own staff, daniel
10:59 curtain for their work on
11:01 today's hearing. Thank you so
11:02 much, and I'll turn it back
11:03 over to check a bomb.
11:06 Ok. And now I'm going t
11:07 oturn the mic over to public
11:09 advocate money Williams t
11:10 odelete, deliver some.
11:12 Remarks. Thank you. Very.
11:14 Much as mention my name is
11:16 zamani Williams public. Abby
11:17 jo, of New York. I want to
11:18 thank, uh, chairs kabbah
11:20 nefarious and Narcisse, the
11:20 members of the mental health
11:21 and substance abuse women in
11:22 gender equity in hospitals
11:23 committee for allowing me the
11:24 opportunity to provide a
11:27 statement New York City has to
11:28 expand access to genda from a
11:29 health care services through
11:31 public hospital school based
11:32 health centers and community
11:34 organizations serving lgbt
11:35 plus youth and 20 25 New York
11:37 City enacted legislation when
11:38 I was a sponsor of a local law
11:41 hundred 26 and local hundred
11:42 27, which require the
11:43 department of health and
11:44 mental hygiene to create and
11:45 distribute signs dealing with
11:46 health care rights of
11:47 transgender patients and
11:48 clinic referred pronouns and
11:50 respectful treatment for
11:51 display across City hospitals
11:52 and report and training
11:53 provided by hospitals
11:54 regarding medical for trans
11:58 individuals, respectively. The
11:58 City should also strengthen
11:59 provided training on
12:00 culturally company care
12:00 insurance insurance coverage
12:01 for medically necessary
12:03 treatments and improve
12:04 coordination between mental
12:04 health and primary care
12:06 services. In addition to City
12:07 should continue protecting
12:09 patient privacy and resisting
12:09 efforts that could deter
12:10 families from seeking care.
12:13 These recommendations aligned
12:14 with my long support for
12:15 health care, equity and
12:16 accountability in public
12:17 systems, the intersection of
12:18 algebra plus identity and the
12:20 modern health care system
12:21 remains defined by systemic
12:23 barriers and persistent healt
12:25 h.
12:25 While overall insurance
12:26 enrollment has improved lgbt
12:29 plus individuals, particularly
12:30 people of more color and
12:31 transgender adults fac
12:32 eheightened rates of chronic
12:32 disease, mental distress and
12:35 substance use disorders. All
12:36 of.
12:36 Whichre e axacerbated by
12:37 stress, a critical drive of
12:39 the disparities is a
12:41 widespread efficiency, medical
12:42 education, which frequently
12:43 fails to equip from clinicians
12:45 with baseline competencies and
12:46 sexual orientation and gender
12:49 identity care. Consequently,
12:50 patients are routinely forced
12:50 to choose between educating
12:51 their own physicians enduring
12:52 miss gender ring and
12:54 substandard treatment or avoid
12:55 the medical system entirely,
12:56 which creates severe gaps and
12:58 preventative and responsive
12:59 public health outcomes
13:01 . Want any community avoids
13:02 regular care. It's bad public
13:03 health for everyone, research
13:05 demonstrates that access
13:07 agenda from in care with was