Military children diagnosed with gender dysphoria will no longer have access to gender-affirming health care through the Pentagon's insurance plan for service members under the next year's proposed military budget.
A provision banning gender-affirming care was added to the House version of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by Republicans before the House passed the bill last week. On Wednesday, the Senate easily passed the bill.
President Joe Biden is expected to sign the "must-pass" legislation into law.
Rep. Sara Jacobs, D-San Diego, sits on the House Armed Services Committee. She says the anti-trans language wasn't part of the bipartisan bill that came out of that committee.
"I'm incredibly disappointed that House speaker Mike Johnson and Republican leadership put in these culture war partisan issues into what has historically been a bipartisan bill," Jacobs told KPBS in an interview. "We don't know the exact numbers, but we do think it's at least thousands if not tens of thousands of families who are going to be affected."
The provision bans Tricare from covering gender-affirming care — specifically hormone therapy and puberty blockers — for anyone under 18. Tricare covers service members, military retirees and their families.
Hormone therapy and puberty blockers are approved treatments for gender dysphoria in kids, said Kathie Moehlig, the founder and director of TransFamily Support Services, a San Diego-based nonprofit.
"This has been approved care by the medical associations, by the pediatric associations, by the psychological associations as important medical care for gender dysphoria," Moehlig said. "And so when we withhold medical care from anybody, we are creating harm."
Moehlig helps families with trans kids across the country access care. Many of them are military families.
"People are afraid," Moehlig said. Her organization is helping these families find alternative care options, which isn't always easy.
"Our military families struggle financially," she said.
The language in the Pentagon spending bill echoes that in bills passed in 26 states banning gender-affirming care.
Moehlig said trans kids are weary of being the targets of these laws.
"Remember these are kids — these are some of our most vulnerable population that adults have politicized and decided to attack," she said. "We have youth ... that say things like, 'I don't even know why I should exist — my government hates me.' That is a huge burden for a kid to walk around with."
Jacobs, who represents thousands of military families living in and around San Diego, said she hears from them frequently.
"Our military families are not calling me about drag shows — they're not calling me about these culture war issues," she said. "They're calling me about the housing they need, child care — they need the health care."
Jacobs and fellow San Diego democrat Juan Vargas were the only two of five San Diego representatives to vote against the NDAA in the House.
Despite her "no" vote, Jacobs said she's proud other priorities were in the final version of the budget, including pay raises up to 14.5% and some coverage for fertility treatment. She said it can be challenging to get other lawmakers to see things from the perspective of service members.
"A lot of my colleagues are really much more focused on the hardware that is built in their district," Jacobs said. "One of the things I spend a lot of my time doing is actually educating (them) about what it's actually like for service members and their families."
Moehlig said her organization is standing by to help connect any family — including military families — to the resources they need.
