Marketplace All-in-One The costs of banning gender-affirming care
Jan 29, 2026
Samantha Fields, a Marketplace reporter who investigated policy impacts on transgender youth, speaks with providers and families. She chronicles hospitals halting care and clinics scrambling to help. Short scenes show clinicians’ strain, fears about funding and jobs, and why many continue offering care despite the risks.
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Funding Threats Prompt Preemptive Clinic Closures
- The HHS rule and investigations have already prompted hospitals to stop offering gender-affirming care for minors even before the rule is final.
- That preemptive pullback shows funding threats can quickly change clinical practices nationwide.
Sudden Surge In Requests After Hospital Cuts
- Casey Cash and Dr. Stacey Johns rushed to handle a flood of calls after hospitals stopped offering care on January 2nd.
- Their new Iris Center struggled to triage many trans youth while also serving other primary-care patients.
Providers Learn About Shutdowns Mid-Vacation
- Cash found out about the closures while on vacation when her phone 'blew up' with parents seeking care.
- She said their practice had gone from a few calls a week to many calls an hour and felt overwhelmed.