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🏥 LGBTQ+ Advocates Urge UW Health to Resume Youth Transgender Care

Last week, over 60 organizations and businesses sent a letter to UW Health and Children’s Wisconsin, asking them to resume offering healthcare to its young transgender patients, including prescribing puberty blockers and hormones.

Here’s why the state’s two top children’s hospitals halted such care, and why advocates say it’s time to bring it back:

Why Was the Care Stopped?: In December, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced new restrictions on transgender youth care. One of the rules would bar any hospital that administers such care from receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding for all services, even in states like Wisconsin where such care is legal.

In January, UW Health and Children’s Wisconsin responded by pausing gender-affirming care for minors, even though HHS said it would not halt reimbursements until a legal challenge from 22 states, including Wisconsin, had been resolved. [NPR, Cap Times]

Judge Rules Against RFK Rules: In April, a federal judge in Oregon ruled that Kennedy did not have the authority to issue the order and threaten federal funding. Hospitals in several states, including Minnesota and Colorado, resumed gender-affirming care for youth following the decision. [The Guardian]

But Not Wisconsin: UW Health said in a statement that “threats from those federal actions are not fully resolved,” and that it was too risky to resume care at this point. [WPR]

“Our Youth Are Counting On You”: The LGBTQ+ advocacy group FAIR Wisconsin organized the letter, which points out that while gender-affirming care for youth is still legal in Wisconsin, UW Health and Children’s Wisconsin have not offered it since January. They say “gender-affirming health care for transgender young people is medically necessary care.” Among the signers of the legislation are Madison bookstore A Room of One’s Own and brewery Delta Beer Lab. [FAIR Wisconsin]

‘Blockbuster’ Deal Would Have Caused Deficit: A failed budget deal between Gov. Tony Evers and GOP leaders would have turned Wisconsin’s $2 billion surplus into a $2.9 billion deficit, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. The proposal, which mixed tax rebates and education spending, would have cost $3.5 billion over the next four years. [WPR]

WMC Building to Become Affordable Housing: The former headquarters of the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce on East Washington Avenue is scheduled to be demolished. The Madison City Council approved a tax incremental finance (TIF) loan last week to build a seven-story affordable apartment building on the site. [Isthmus]

Fourth Time the Charm For East Side Property?: A senior living facility called “Capitol View at Oak Park” could be coming to a much-discussed piece of property on the far east side. The 2.5-acre property on Halley Way has been the site of three other projects that were approved by the city, but never came to fruition. [Cap Times]

Judge Rebuffs Trump Access to Voter Rolls: A federal judge blocked the U.S. Department of Justice from accessing the unredacted personal information of Wisconsin voters. The Trump administration sued after the Wisconsin Election Commission refused to turn over the data, including partial Social Security numbers and drivers license info. [News 3]

Missed the Last Yard Waste Pickup?: While there won’t be another curbside collection by the Streets Division until fall, Madison residents can take leftover waste to one of the city’s three dropoff sites. [City of Madison]

Meet April and Donatello! This bonded pair is looking for a home together with a patient family who can help them settle in. April (the black cat) is a 2-year-old tripod who loves watching the hustle and bustle from a window perch, and warms up quickly with treats and gentle pets.

Donatello (the orange cat) is a little more reserved, and will stick close to April even when saying hi to new visitors. He also has cerebellar hypoplasia which makes him a little wobbly, which makes him somehow even more adorable..