Mamdani Administration Contracts $8.9 Million for Youth Gender-Affirming Care
City health department awards funds for sex reassignment services for minors, drawing criticism.
The Mamdani administration has entered into two contracts totaling $8.9 million to provide gender-affirming sex reassignment care to transgender patients under the age of 18. This initiative aligns with a policy that the federal Department of Justice has previously challenged as medically dangerous and illegal.
The city Department of Health has selected Callen-Lorde and Nonprofit Organization for Philanthropic Initiatives as vendors for services intended to run from 2027 to 2029. According to a public notice from the DOH, these services include the prescription and administration of puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy for minor patients deemed to require them based on prevailing standards of care. The department stated that services will be performed by qualified, licensed medical providers and will adhere to state laws regarding parental consent.
Critics have voiced opposition to the contracts, asserting that the administration is attempting to circumvent the federal ban on gender care services for minors. State Conservative Party Chairman Gerard Kassar criticized the move as an ideological decision rather than a medical one, suggesting it isolates New York City from the rest of the country.
This development follows actions by other major city hospital systems, such as NYU Langone and Mount Sinai, which ceased their pediatric gender-affirming care for minors. These institutions faced scrutiny from the Trump administration's Department of Justice, which threatened to withhold millions of dollars in federal research grants, Medicaid, and Medicare funding. The DOJ has referred to such procedures as "sex-rejecting."
New York has been a proponent of gender-affirming care, defying a national trend where approximately 27 states have enacted laws banning or limiting such treatments for transgender youth. Some of these state laws are currently facing legal challenges, and Colorado is set to hold a referendum in November on whether to outlaw gender-related surgeries for individuals under 18.
The medical community remains divided on the issue of gender-affirming care for transgender youth. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons recommends delaying gender-related surgeries until patients reach at least 19 years old, citing an incomplete understanding of the natural course of pediatric gender dysphoria. Conversely, the American Medical Association opposes laws that restrict or penalize access to evidence-based gender-affirming care, supporting legal protections for minors, their parents, and healthcare providers.