Vermont Takes Action Amid Federal Funding Threats – New Bill Would Create Trust Fund for Gender-Affirming Care
Hospital funding for trans care may be under attack from the Trump Administration, but a new Vermont bill seeks to remedy the gap.
Featured Image: Photo credit, Amber Roberts, via Getty Images
As the Trump Administration has ramped up its campaign to cut federal funding to hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to minors, many providers have terminated services this past year, leaving trans individuals without access to care. A new Vermont bill seeks to remedy that gap: H0576 made its debut on January 6, 2026, introduced by Representatives Berbeco of Winooski, Bluemle of Burlington, and Headrick of Burlington. The Affirming Health Care Trust Fund, which the bill seeks to establish, would provide direct financial support to cover costs associated with gender-affirming care in the Green Mountain State.
“Over the past year we’ve seen a growing mismatch between the need for affirming health care services and the stability of funding mechanisms supporting them,” Rep. Daisy Berbeco, D-Winooski tells GO. “Constituents, providers, and advocates have been clear that uncertainty—especially abrupt gaps or changes in coverage—creates real harm for patients and makes long-term service delivery difficult for providers. The bill is intended to address that instability and support continuity of care.”
Indeed, the funding would be a lifeline for patients who would otherwise go without treatment. Additionally, it would fund a range of gender-affirming services—including psychiatric, therapeutic, diagnostic, preventative, rehabilitative, and supportive care—as well as medication designed to affirm an individual’s gender identity. It would also help cover payments for malpractice and liability insurance for clinicians who continue offering care.
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To date, a long list of hospitals across the country have eliminated such care, having caved under the weight of government pressure. Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles (CHLA) shuttered its Center for Transyouth Health and Development last summer; Children’s National Hospital in Washington D.C. and Children’s Wisconsin are among the many that stopped offering supportive pharmacologic support.
“It’s not been difficult to see the impact that this coordinated, sweeping attack on gender affirming care has had throughout the country,” says Dana Kaplan, Executive Director of Outright Vermont, which is committed to building safe and supportive environments for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 13-22). “Here in Vermont, we are not immune to the chilling effect it has created. We are hearing from families about the challenges they are facing due to these very threats from the current administration.”
Kaplan says that it’s always important, and feels particularly important in this moment, to remind adults that they must make clear to the young people in their lives that no policy or law will ever take away the brilliance they hold and offer this world. “Young people need to know that adults have their back and will take action to protect their rights. And that’s exactly what this bill does. It says, we’re not going to allow hate, extremists, or any abuse of power get between you and your right to access the healthcare you need and deserve to live a healthy and beautiful life.”
The Bill’s language notes that services do not include conversion therapy, or surgical interventions on minors who have variations in their sex characteristics if they have not personally sought and initiated such treatment. The latter would seem to address the medical establishment’s longstanding practice to surgically impose a sex on “intersex” children – often with devastating outcomes.
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If passed, funding would go into effect immediately and would be administered by the State Treasurer.
“By taking steps to ensure access to gender affirming care, these Vermont state leaders are holding up the consensus of health professionals whose work is grounded in research, clinical experience, and most importantly, patient outcomes,” Kaplan says.
