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Trans teens across New York City scramble after NYU Langone shutters care
By
Caroline Lewis
and
Giulia Heyward
Published Feb 18, 2026
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Photo by: GHI/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
By
Caroline Lewis
and
Giulia Heyward
Published Feb 18, 2026
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Transgender teens who have been receiving gender-affirming care at NYU Langone Health are scrambling to find care elsewhere, after the hospital system announced it will shutter its trans youth health program.
Rachel, a Brooklyn mother whose 16-year-old son has been receiving hormone therapy at NYU Langone Health for the past two years, said she was told this week her son can get a 30-day refill of testosterone “and that’s it.” She asked Gothamist not to share her last name to protect her family’s privacy.
“They’re just completely abandoning trans youth and it's disgusting and it's dangerous,” Rachel said. “These kids need care.”
NYU Langone is closing its program as the Trump administration threatens to pull federal funding from hospitals that provide treatments such as hormones or puberty blockers to minors. The Trump administration in December proposed new rules that would prohibit Medicare or Medicaid funding from flowing to hospitals that provide such gender-affirming treatments to patients under 18. Hospitals rely heavily on these massive public insurance programs for revenue.
Those rules were subject to a 60-day public comment period and are still in the process of being finalized. But some local elected officials said Wednesday they are concerned that other hospital systems will follow suit.
“Given the recent departure of our medical director, coupled with the current regulatory environment, we made the difficult decision to discontinue our Transgender Youth Health Program,” Steve Ritea, a spokesperson for NYU Langone Health, said Wednesday.
He added, “We are committed to helping patients in our care manage this change.”
Rachel said her son will now be receiving care at Stony Brook University Hospital on Long Island.
Asked for comment Wednesday on the move to restrict access to trans care, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services pointed to its December announcement on the proposed rules.
“Under my leadership, and answering President Trump’s call to action, the federal government will do everything in its power to stop unsafe, irreversible practices that put our children at risk,” HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said at the time.
NYU Langone is one of multiple major medical centers in New York City that have developed prominent programs for trans youth in recent years, contributing to the city’s reputation as a haven for LGBTQ+ young people.
But in January of last year, when President Donald Trump first threatened to pull funding from hospitals providing this care, NYU Langone began canceling appointments for young patients — a move that immediately sparked protests. New York Attorney General Letitia James warned hospitals at the time that they could be violating the state’s antidiscrimination laws by denying patients certain services.
Local elected officials and LGBTQ+ rights groups railed against the news on Wednesday of NYU Langone completely discontinuing its trans health program.
“For these young patients, gender-affirming care is life-affirming care, and it’s my hope that other health care providers will step in immediately to continue to provide this critical treatment,” said Manhattan Borough President Brad Holyman-Sigal.
State Sen. Erik Bottcher, who represents Manhattan’s West Side, also spoke out against the move.
“Health care decisions should be made by doctors, patients and families, not by politicians weaponizing funding to push an extreme ideological agenda,” Bottcher said. “This decision will cause real harm.”
Bottcher said he and other lawmakers were already beginning to look into what can be done to address the loss in treatment for trans youth.
The City Council included funding in this year’s city budget for gender-affirming care and other housing and employment resources for the LGBTQ+ community in response to federal rollbacks on protections and services.
Tagged
Politics
health
new york city
Caroline Lewis
Caroline Lewis is on the health care beat for WNYC and Gothamist. She has covered COVID, a nurses' strike, the overdose crisis and New York’s marijuana legalization effort, and spent a year investigating patients' medical bills. She always wants to hear about how everyday New Yorkers experience the health system. Got a tip? Email [email protected].
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Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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