Opinion: Nevada Fails to Shield Gender-Affirming Care Providers
In a Nevada opinion piece, the author argues that despite Nevada's 2023 law (SB163) requiring certain insurance, including Medicaid, to cover gender-affirming care for gender dysphoria, the state has failed to protect providers who offer it. The author cites Gov. Joe Lombardo's vetoes of SB302 and SB171, bills that would have barred medical licensing boards from disciplining providers of gender-affirming care and blocked extradition over out-of-state charges, while the state passed shield laws for reproductive rights in the same period. The piece quotes Dr. Michael Uzmann, a Las Vegas endocrinologist, saying providers need policy protections against out-of-state subpoenas, records requests, investigations or extradition tied to legally provided care, and reports he received roughly 300 new transgender patients after Huntridge Family Clinic's temporary closure. The author argues this leaves trans Nevadans, including Medicaid enrollees, without reliable access to the care the state's insurance mandate is supposed to guarantee.