NYC Council Set To Pass Bills Protecting Transgender Healthcare Rights

August 14th, 2025

Press Release

NEW YORK: While the Trump administration continues relentless attacks on the transgender community, the New York City Council will vote today on legislation from Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams to enshrine the rights of trans individuals in the hospital system. The two bills aim to combat the inequities and injustices that the trans community has long faced in healthcare settings.

As the federal government targets the trans community, it is essential that local governments enhance protections and commitment to justice, inclusivity, and equity. Through the Public Advocate’s legislation, the city can help close the gap of health disparities, and ensure accessible healthcare to transgender New Yorkers.

“While conservative media and lawmakers deny the transgender communities rights to serve, to play, to even exist, to access the gender-affirming medical care across the country, trans New Yorkers are facing preventable obstacles to basic, equitable healthcare of all kinds,” said New York City Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams. “The trans community deserves equitable access to healthcare services, and to be able to receive that treatment without fear of discrimination or the burden of education and explanation of gender issues to their healthcare providers. While we fight the bigotry of the federal government against TGNCNB Americans, we have an obligation to do what we can here at home to confront the inadequacies that stem from implicit bias and explicit lack of training on transgender issues.”

The first bill, Int 0628-A, will require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) to distribute and post signs on an individual’s rights to be referred to by a preferred name, title, gender, and pronoun in city hospitals and establishes guidance to encourage hospitals to list and conspicuously post the transgender-specific services in facilities and on its website. This bill would also require DOHMH to coordinate with hospitals to identify the services offered by any such hospitals to meet the specific needs of transgender individuals.

The second, Intro 629-A, will require DOHMH to report on training provided by hospitals to staff on care for trans and gender non-conforming persons. The DOHMH Commissioner would also be required to provide a summary of the information included in any such training provided by a hospital to medical staff relating to the provision of medical care to transgender individuals, including whether such training includes information on culturally sensitive care.

As of 2021, one in three transgender individuals report having to educate their doctors about basic transgender issues in order to receive appropriate care. About the same proportion of trans individuals who had seen a healthcare provider in the last year report having had at least one negative experience related to being transgender. As a result, 27% of transgender people reported having not seen a doctor in the past year for fear of being mistreated.

When the bill was first introduced, the Public Advocate released a short-form documentary piece highlighting the obstacles that transgender and gender non-conforming New Yorkers face in accessing quality, gender-affirming health care. The piece, entitled Our Healthcare, features a roundtable discussion between members of the Office of the Public Advocate and a panel of transgender activists – watch it here.

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