SPRINGFIELD — Baystate Health has notified families that the hospital will no longer provide hormone medications or puberty blockers for patients under the age of 18 and is transferring these services to a local health care organization that specializes in comprehensive gender-affirming care.
“As the healthcare regulatory landscape continues to evolve, we have been assessing how we can best serve the long-term needs of our patients and their families,” a Feb 9 letter to families states. “While Baystate Health will continue to provide gender-affirming mental health counseling for children and adolescents, we will no longer prescribe gender-affirming hormone medications or puberty blocking medications to patients under 18 years old.”
The notice does not give a reason for Baystate’s change in practice, but a spokesperson from Baystate said the move reflects proposed federal regulations that limit Medicare and Medicaid funding for hospitals providing gender-affirming care to youth.
Baystate is transferring patients to Transhealth, a nonprofit organization specializing in gender-affirming health care, to provide a continuation in care. Transhealth hired additional providers to care for the new patients, Jo Erwin, CEO of Transhealth, said in a statement.
“We are working closely with the hospital to help make this transfer of care as smooth as possible for families,” Erwin said.
In December 2025, the Department of Health and Human Service’s Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced two proposed rules that limit youth access to gender-affirming care. The first rule prohibits Medicare and Medcaid enrolled hospitals from providing horomone treatments and puberty blockers. The second rule prevents Medicaid or Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) reimbursements for any providers offering such care to transgender youth.
“Nearly 70 percent of Baystate Health patients rely on Medicaid and Medicare, and preserving access to care for these individuals and all others in our community is a responsibility we take seriously,” the hospital’s statement said.
Both proposals are outlined in President Donald Trump’s Executive Order signed in January 2025. The document instructs HHS to “take all appropriate actions to end” gender affirming care, including changing Medicare and Medicaid conditions of participation and coverage.
Gender-affirming care spans hormone therapy, puberty blockers, mental health treatment and surgery, which is uncommon for minors. Major United States medical associations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, have deemed the care effective in improving mental health among trans youth.
Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell said in a statement she would challenge the rules in court if finalized. Massachusetts law prohibits discrimination of gender identity and gender dysphoria in health care treatment and coverage. In 2022, the state passed an An Act Expanding Protections for Reproductive and Gender-Affirming Care that protects gender-affirming and reproductive care.
“Medically necessary health care for transgender youth saves lives and is essential to their emotional and physical wellbeing,” Campbell said in a Dec. 18 statement. “While these proposed rules cruelly target our trans community, they will put millions of Americans’ health care at risk by forcing hospitals and medical providers to choose between receiving Medicaid and Medicare funding or abandoning their adolescent transgender patients.”
Baystate is the most recent New England hospital to announce the move as the federal government continues to restrict gender-affirming care for youth patients. In October, Fenway Health in Boston said it would no longer provide gender-affirming care to patients younger than 19. GLAD reports that families are suing two institutions in Connecticut — Yale New Haven Health and Connecticut Children’s Medical Center — that abruptly stopped providing the care in July.
New Hampshire became the first New England state to ban gender-affirming medication to youth for the purposes of transitioning in August 2025, according to New Hampshire Public Radio. It joins 26 other states that prohibited the medical treatment.