FLORIDA TRANS PALS, IT IS TIME TO PLAN
Especially if you are on HRT!
HB1421 is a bill that severely affects access to gender affirming care, including for adults. It outlines goals to:
1) Prohibit changing gender markers on birth certificates
2) Require that gender affirming care only come from physicians (not nurse practioners) who take on liability insurance for 30 YEARS after they provide care to a patient
3) Require informed consent forms at every single appointment, including distributing literature to dissuade patients
4) Ban transition care completely for minors
5) Make it so providers who accept state funds cannot provide gender affirming services (this is the big one that stands to affect anyone who takes medicare/aid, is a university, etc.).
6) Make it so providers who accept state funds cannot reimburse for gender affirming services.
We are facing a return to the Harry Benjamin days, or worse, an effective ban unless you are fortunate/wealthy enough to find a willing provider.
If it passes, this bill would take effect July 1, 2023. That is not a lot of time.
I would not count on any Rx or refill request to be honored after this date if the prescribing and dispensing sources no longer are allowed to grant care or decide to drop care because of the penalties.
July 1, 2023. Unless we hear otherwise, that is your clock.
This sucks, but there is comfort in seeing a clear date to plan around and the worst case is no longer completely unknown. It begins July 1.
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1) Get any and all your HRT appointments in now, including picking up your meds and doing bloodwork promptly.
2) If you think you will be living in FL come July, start looking now for providers where physicians - not NPs - provide the care. Get an appointment on the books for July. Be prepared to go in person for everything after July 1, because I believe telemed will also be shit-canned. Here is a map of informed consent providers.
3) If you are an old like me, also dig up your HRT permission slip from your therapist. Fuck, make a packet of all your transition documents, including Rx history.
4) If you are on private insurance, start budgeting now to prepare to pay out of pocket.
5) Create a simple spreadsheet of all your HRT dates (pls forgive, my experience is with shots on a 2 week cycle, so this is pretty easy for me to do) and plan out how long your current supply will last. Then, forecast how long all your upcoming refills before July 1 will last. Update it every time you pick up and take your meds. Refer to it for decisions like moving or finding backup providers.
6) Subscribe to the bill to get notified of changes asap
7) Follow this site to keep tabs on other very scary bills happening in Florida, including a bathroom ban and a child custody bill that is effectively kidnapping
8) If you need to change your birth certificate, do it now, pay the rush fees and write RUSH on the envelope. The Department of Health has the most up-to-date forms. Processing time for rush I last saw was around 18 business days.
9) Now that your own oxygen mask is on, so they say, boost mutual aid and recruit allies to assist in any way possible.
Do try to continue seeing your current provider as long as possible, as they likely will need your support. Talk to them frankly about their plans if the bill passes.
Now. I am just a little guy and not a legal expert, but the aggressive enactment date on this bill makes me feel like everyone should plan now instead of waiting to see if it passes.
Be safe, plan, and then get a little rest. Do not lose hope - this bill could still fail.
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