Nat Moguet testifies on barriers to care for TGNC New Yorkers

All right, thank you so much, Chair Clarias, Chair Caban, Chair Narcisse, and members of the Committee on Women and Gender Equity, Mental Health and Substance Use, and hospitals for holding this hearing and providing us with the opportunity to testify today.

My name is Nat Moguet, pronouns they, he, and I'm the Director of Advocacy and Programs at the New York Transgender Advocacy Group, where we focus on creating pathways for TGNC, NBI, New Yorkers to build leadership

and drive advocacy and grow community rooted in collective care and power.

Although New York State has been established as a safe haven for trans youth, health-related societal barriers still prevent our community members from accessing the care we need.

These barriers include housing insecurity, cost barriers, lack of culturally competent providers, food insecurity, and unreliable transportation.

17.3% of transgender New Yorkers have reported cost barriers for needed medical care compared to 7.3% of non-LGBTQ.

individuals.

36.2% of trans New Yorkers have also reported unreliable transportation and housing insecurity as a barrier to receiving health care versus 17.1% of non-LGBTQIA individuals.

This gap in accessibility has been exasperated by hateful rhetoric by the federal administration, placing providers and TGNC and BI clients under extreme fear.

Healthcare should be universal.

However, we are living without a system that guarantees medical coverage for all residents.

Even as a 27-year-old trans activist, I have been without a healthcare provider for four years now.

No PCP, no dentist, none of that.

There's a major shortage of providers who understand our communities.

Nearly one-third of LGBTQ New Yorkers report that there are too few health care providers trained in LGBTQ issues.

And amongst trans and gender nonconforming New Yorkers, more than half identified the lack of LGBTQ trained providers as a significant barrier.

This shortage places an unfair responsibility on patients, and TGNC-NBI people frequently have to educate their own health care providers about our bodies, our medications, and our basic health care needs.

And a patient should not have to become a medical educator simply to receive competent care.

We all know that there's been moves towards shuttering health care for our community, and there are clear attempts to restrict our access to safe and affirming resources.

These moves will be detrimental.

and deadly towards our community members.

And while opponents try to restrict access and instill fear, our city has the opportunity to remain a leader and dedicated to our people.

We make the following recommendations to the city council and urge support for the following to prioritize constitutional and legal protections for our community.

We support Intro 949, we support Resolution 0208, and we support Resolution 0547.

Thank you for allowing us to testify, and we look forward to working with you to make sure that trans folks get the support they deserve.

And I will also email over my testimony alongside our trans youth that we have here and provide my contact information.

Thank you.