OHA to Crack Down on Insurers That Don’t Offer Gender-Affirming Care

House Bill 2002, a 2023 law that requires insurers to offer gender-affirming care, went into effect at the beginning of this year.

Oregon State Capitol (Edmund Garman)
By Lucas Manfield

The Oregon Health Authority has announced a plan to identify Medicaid insurers that fail to offer gender-affirming care.

The plan is to use claims data to figure out which providers offer the services and then audit the state’s coordinated care organizations to ensure they contract with those providers.

The agency says it will begin doing so this month, according to a letter director Sejal Hathi sent to the Oregon Health Policy Board late last month. The consequences for the CCOs that don’t are not clear, although Hathi says her agency will provide “written feedback” and “monitor CCO progress.”

House Bill 2002, a 2023 law that requires insurers to offer gender-affirming care, went into effect at the beginning of this year.

Hathi’s letter follows a letter from the board’s health equity committee noting that there’s “a scarcity of GAC providers, especially in rural areas.” The letter notes that officials are expecting an influx of transgender people seeking health care as other states restrict access.

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