Andy Bowen urges whole-of-government approach and city contract leverage
Andy Bowen of the Queer Budget Center and an H&H patient says the Trump administration loses when challenged and that the city should align the Law Department, chief counsel, and corporation counsel to protect affirming care under the Human Rights Act. Bowen says city contracts with hospital systems give leverage to compel continuity of care and supports the bills.
Thank you.
Good afternoon, chairs at Cabana and Farias, members of the Committee of Women and Gender Equity and Mental Health and Substance Use.
My name is Andy Bowen.
I am founder and executive director of a now year-old-ish organization called Queer Budget Center, a national organization that uses government budget advocacy to strengthen vulnerable communities'material resources.
I miss working with you all and have joined the MIC Trans and Queer Coalition.
I'm also a proud gender-affirming care patient at NYC Health and Hospitals, which has provided me the best care of my life.
I co-signed the asks and questions of the NYC Trans and Queer Coalition partners, and I will emphasize some extra points.
It's important to note, given the capitulation of Mount Sinai, NYU, and Presbyterian, that the Trump admin loses when challenged, and other hospital systems have put up fights, notably in the Midwest.
It's notable that after many losses in court, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have held off finalizing their proposed rule that would condition hospitals'participation in Medicare and Medicaid on its offering of gender-affirming care.
With that in mind, we need a whole-of-government approach to fight the feds.
I look to the entire Mamdani administration, including the law.
law department, chief counsel, and corporation at council to align on a unified goal of protecting gender-affirming care in line with the New York City Human Rights Act,
actions of the Attorney General and other AGs across the nation who not only hold the Trump administration to account, but in many cases hold their own health care systems to account.
And yes, I recognize the state is the regulator for hospitals, but the city has a lot of leverage.
The city holds contracts with these health systems.
These contracts are in many cases for important services that shouldn't be ended or interrupted.
However, the funding gives more leverage for the city to hold these systems to the city's human rights laws.
The city should use that power to compel continuation of care for trans and gender nonconforming people to the extent legally possible.
As to the bills, I support them and will provide feedback in my written testimony, which will be submitted after the fact.
On Reso 547, the governor must follow the example of city council and the mayor in making historic investments in gender-affirming care.
The community is suffering and waiting.
I cannot echo hard enough also the need to expand gender-affirming care for all ages and that care needs to be widely geographically accessible.
The city as a government has the resources and we have the law on our side.
Thank you.