On Tuesday, November 28th the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services will host a regulatory hearing regarding gender-affirming care in Nebraska. We encourage you to attend the hearing (between 7 am and 7 pm at the Lancaster County Event Center), but if you are unable to attend in person, we hope you will send in your comments online!
Talking Points:
Healthcare should be between patients and doctors, not the government. There is already a standard of care in place regarding gender-affirming care for minors, these regulations only seek to further restrict care and ignore the current standard of care.
The proposed regulations create undue financial burden on families. The proposed regulations include a required 40 hours of therapy and other hoops for families to jump through that create a financial burden for families already struggling to access expensive healthcare.
Gender-affirming care is life-saving. Evidence-based research shows that access to gender-affirming care leads to better mental health outcomes for transgender young people. This healthcare literally saves lives.
Sample Script:
Greetings,
My name is _______ and I am a Nebraska resident who opposes further restrictions on gender-affirming care. The proposed regulations create undue financial and emotional burdens on already struggling families and youth.
This issue is important to me because _____________.
I believe that healthcare decisions should be between patients and their doctors, not lawmakers. I urge you to listen to healthcare professionals and those impacted by these laws, and make the decision NOT to further restrict access to this care.
Comments can be faxed to 402-742-2382, emailed to dhhs.regulations@nebraska.gov or mailed to the address below.
DHHS Legal Services
PO Box 95026
Lincoln NE 68509-5026