Hoylman-Sigal details SHIELD law, federal subpoenas, and hospital settlements
Hoylman-Sigal describes an expected federal Medicaid and CHIP reimbursement rule, DOJ subpoenas for patient records, and SHIELD Law 2.0 notification protections. He says Lambda Legal, ACLU, and NYLPI won an injunction, and that NYU Langone and Mount Sinai settlements ended youth gender-affirming medical care.
And as
As more of the country closes its doors, New York is slowly becoming one of the last safe havens and bastions of health care for the LGBTQ plus community.
But none of us can take that protection for granted.
On October 13, the Trump administration is expected to implement a federal rule ending Medicaid and CHIP reimbursement for this care for young people.
And this year, as we know, the Department of Justice under Trump issued subpoenas to hospitals nationwide, including several here in New York City, seeking the private records of young patients.
I've heard from so many families whose children's records were among those demanded by these subpoenas.
It is a uniquely terrifying situation to be in.
To do everything in your power to make sure your child receives life-saving medical care, and that's what it is, and then to have the federal government violate your children's and your family's rights to medical privacy.
I had the privilege of working with colleagues in Albany in passing New York's SHIELD law
and what's called the SHIELD law 2.0 to provide the strongest possible protections to transgender New Yorkers and their families and medical providers against the abuses in the legal process.
The SHIELD law 2.0 protects patients and providers from attempts by out-of-state prosecutors.
To find them liable.
or seek information in New York simply for providing, seeking, or obtaining life-saving care that is legal in New York State.
It also requires New York institutions that receive requests for protected health information, even from the federal government, to notify the Attorney General and affected patients before any disclosure.
Because of the SHIELD Law 2.0, the families whose records were sought by the Trump Department of Justice through federal grand jury subpoenas were at least notified with enough time to get to court.
With help from Lambda Legal, the ACLU, and Nightclue, they won an injunction, still active today, that blocks the Department of Justice from obtaining these records.
But as you are well aware, a state law cannot override a federal law and cannot by itself stop a federal investigation.
It also cannot protect what does not exist.
We need providers to actually provide care.
And as the Trump administration continues its crusade, its shameful crusade, there are fewer and fewer willing to do so.