Maryland, My Maryland

 From PM, Johns Hopkins backs Maryland bill to fund child sex changes, face and tracheal surgeries

In a recent email sent to staff, Johns Hopkins University and Johns Hopkins Medicine stated their support of a Maryland bill that would expand the types of "medically necessary gender-affirming treatments" covered by the state’s Medicaid program, including puberty blockers for children.

"Last year, Johns Hopkins Medicine provided written and oral testimony in support of a similar bill introduced last year but did not pass in the Maryland House," the email states. "JHM will be submitting written testimony in support of the proposed legislation." "Helen Hedian, Director of Clinical Education for the Johns Hopkins Center for Transgender and Gender Expansive Health will be providing oral testimony at the upcoming committee hearings this month. "Paula M. Neira, Program Director of LGBTQ+ Equity and Education in the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Health Equity, will also be testifying in support of the proposed revisions to the Maryland Medicaid program," the email concluded.

The email was in support of Maryland House Bill 283 and its sister bill in the Senate, SB 460. HB 283 was introduced on January 29, 2023, entitled "Trans Health Equity Act." The bill states that on January 1, 2024, if passed, the Maryland Medical Assistance Program will be required to cover "gender-affirming" treatments.

These treatments include puberty blockers for children, hormone therapy, hair alteration, voice alterations and therapy, mastectomies and breast augmentations, laser scar treatments, genital surgeries, and fertility preservation services, among others.

The legislation states that "'gender-affirming treatment' may include treatment described in the current clinical Standards of Care for gender-affirming treatment published by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health." For those receiving treatment under Medicaid, "medically necessary gender-affirming treatment" will be provided in a "nondiscriminatory manner." "In addition, the law provides a mechanism to ensure that coverage may not be excluded because a treatment was labeled as cosmetic, or that an adverse health benefit determination cannot be made, unless a health care provider with gender-affirming care experience has reviewed and confirmed the determination," the Johns Hopkins email states.

Just coincidentally, transgender affirming treatments promise to be a very good revenue stream, with  costs running into the millions over a lifetime of drugs and surgery per person.

Old enough to change sex, but not old enough to be accountable for their actions, as Jazz Shaw at Hat Hair reports, Maryland bill would block minors from being charged as adults

The Maryland state Senate recently introduced SB 93, named the Youth Equity & Safety Act. This latest attempt at so-called “justice reform” would end the practice of charging juvenile suspects under the age of 18 as adults. Proponents of the bill claim that younger offenders don’t receive the resources they need in an adult prison while going through the juvenile court system makes them “less likely to re-offend.” (They offered no data to back up that assertion.) This is a stunning proposal to put forward at a time when Baltimore has seen seven straight years with more than 300 murders and a very sizable portion of the offenders (when they manage to identify and arrest a suspect) are minors that are recruited by the gangs, some of whom are barely old enough for middle school.