The Office of New York Attorney General Letitia James has ordered NYU Langone to resume gender-affirming care for patients under the age of 19 after the hospital shut down its Transgender Youth Health Program in the face of pressure from the Trump administration.
The letter, obtained by Gay City News, was delivered on Feb. 25 — about a week after NYU Langone shut down its program, citing the “current regulatory environment” and the departure of its medical director.
“You are hereby advised to immediately resume all service offerings as they had before the change in policy and to make medically necessary puberty-blocking medications and hormone therapies available for patients under nineteen who are diagnosed with gender dysphoria,” the letter noted.
James’ office gave NYU Langone 10 business days to comply with the directive to resume care.
“Your failure to comply with this directive may result in further action by this office,” the letter warned.
James has filed multiple lawsuits against the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict gender-affirming care. In the latest letter, James’ office further reminded NYU Langone that New York State laws banning discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity, and disability “remain fully in effect.”
NYU Langone and some other providers in New York first started cancelling appointments for trans youth in early 2025 in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s executive order calling to restrict federal funds for providers offering gender-affirming care for individuals under the age of 19.
Most recently, the hospital nixed its Transgender Youth Health Program after the White House announced proposed rules stipulating that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would require hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs to ban gender-affirming care for individuals under the age of 18 and bar federal Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care for minors. The administration also stated that the ban would apply to federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding for gender-affirming care procedures for individuals under the age of 19.
“The threat of federal funds being withheld or rescinded because of the provision of gender-affirming care does not excuse providers’ and medical institutions’ existing duties and obligations under New York law, their licensing requirements, and the relevant professional codes of conduct,” noted the letter, which was signed by Darsana Srinivasan, who serves as the health care bureau chief in James’ office. “The Attorney General, pursuant to Executive Law Section 63(12), is empowered to enforce these laws.”
The New York Times first reported on the attorney general’s letter, which was addressed to Annette Johnson, who serves as NYU Langone’s executive vice president and vice dean, general counsel. The letter further stressed to the hospital that the proposed rules “are not final actions and do not change NYU Langone’s obligations to its patients or its eligibility to participate in federal programs.”
“Without a formal change in the law, meaning an action from which legal consequences will flow, such as a published final rule upheld by the courts, NYU Langone’s legal obligations to its patients are unchanged,” the letter noted.
Since NYU Langone ended its program, reports have emerged of other hospitals — such as Mount Sinai — making similar moves to restrict gender-affirming care for youth.
Lorelei Crean, a trans rights activist who has spoken up at recent rallies about their own experience with Mount Sinai over the last year, unsuccessfully sought to schedule an appointment with Mount Sinai for gender-affirming care when they were 17 years old. Crean, now 18, said a nurse told them that the hospital “stopped giving appointments to trans youth because of the financial threats from the Trump administration.”
Beyond NYU Langone, the Office of the Attorney General has yet to send such letters to other providers in New York City. When asked if NYU Langone responded to the letter, the Office of the Attorney General referred Gay City News to the hospital.
It is not clear whether NYU Langone has resumed gender-affirming care for youth. NYU Langone did not respond to a request for comment on the attorney general’s letter or the order to resume care.
Some state lawmakers have proposed solutions to address threats to gender-affirming care in New York. Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas of Queens and State Senator Kristen Gonzalez of Queens, Brooklyn, and Manhattan introduced legislation to establish an $8 million gender-affirming care fund to support providers of gender-affirming care services. Meanwhile, Manhattan Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal introduced a bill that would require Medicaid to cover gender-affirming care in New York State — regardless of federal funding — and ban healthcare discrimination against protected classes, including on the basis of age, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression, among other classes.
