Massachusetts allocates historic funding to first-in-nation Affirming Health Care Trust Fund
(BOSTON—06/16/2026) — In a milestone win for health access, the Massachusetts Legislature has fully funded the Affirming Health Care Trust Fund in the Fair Share supplemental budget signed into law Friday by Governor Maura Healey. This action signifies the Commonwealth’s unwavering commitment to protecting gender‐affirming health care access for transgender and nonbinary people.
The Affirming Health Care Trust Fund, designed and championed by Senator Julian Cyr, Representative Samantha Montaño, and Representative Marjorie Decker, is a first‐in‐the‐nation program supporting access to gender‐affirming health care in Massachusetts. This measure is especially critical as the federal government and other states attack the rights of transgender people.
The $3.5 million appropriation in this year’s supplemental budget brings the Trust Fund’s total funding to $4.5 million, creating a financial backing for health centers that provide gender‐affirming care to vulnerable populations. This will allow providers to sustain essential health services for transgender and nonbinary residents should federal efforts to thwart access to care are successful.
“Across the country, LGBTQ+ people—especially our transgender siblings—are being targeted and threatened,” Senator Julian Cyr (D-Provincetown) said. “While the federal government and other states are banning gender‐affirming care, criminalizing doctors, and intimidating families, Massachusetts is choosing a different path. With the Affirming Health Care Trust, we are saying clearly and unequivocally that trans lives matter, trans health matters, and the Commonwealth will lead with compassion, science, and moral clarity.”
“The Affirming Health Care Trust is a first in the nation example of the kind of proactive care that Massachusetts does best,” Representative Samantha Montaño (D––Boston) said. “I’m so grateful to have such unified support for this work at all levels of government and look forward to ensuring health and safety for everyone.”
The Trust Fund was first established in 2025 during the FY26 budget debate to ensure that transgender and nonbinary residents can access medically necessary, evidence‐based care without facing prohibitive costs or delays. The House of Representatives established the Trust Fund in their FY26 budget and allocated an initial $1 million for gender-affirming care with strong support from House Ways & Means Chair Aaron Michelwitz. The Senate allocated an addition $3.5 million to the Trust Fund, with robust support from Senate Ways & Means Chair Mike Rodrigues and Senate President Karen Spilka, in the supplemental budget that Governor Healey just signed into law.
“I am proud to have joined my colleagues, Senator Cyr and Representative Montaño, in working to ensure that gender-affirming care remains accessible in Massachusetts,” Representative Marjorie Decker (D-Cambridge) said. “At a time when transgender people and their health care providers are facing attacks across the country, the Massachusetts Legislature will stand up for human rights and protect access to care. No one should be denied health care because of who they are or how they identify. During Pride Month and every month, we remain committed to standing with the LGBTQ+ community and defending the dignity and well-being of every person.”
Every major medical association––including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the American Psychiatric Association––recognizes gender‐affirming care as medically necessary and often lifesaving. Yet even before recent federal attacks, many trans people faced significant barriers to accessing care.
“In the face of cruel and calculated federal interference in affirming health care, Massachusetts has a moral responsibility—and a historic opportunity—to lead,” Cyr continued. “This supplemental budget investment means that Massachusetts is prepared to protect access to affirming health care no matter what happens in Washington, D.C.”
The broader supplemental budget that includes this funding makes major investments across state government—from education to public health to transportation—underscoring the Commonwealth’s steadfast dedication to ensuring our communities’ can not only operate but thrive.
“The inclusion of additional funding for the Affirming Health Care Trust Fund in this supplemental budget is yet another example of Massachusetts acting on its values,” said Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, M.D., PhD. “We have long recognized the importance of affirming and supporting individuals for who they are. As the federal government advances policies that directly attack the LGBTQ+ community, we will continue to do everything in our power to stand firm and protect access to health care for LGBTQ+ individuals. Our work is made stronger because of the dedicated healthcare providers across the state who continue to show up and care for patients, even in these moments of uncertainty. DPH stands ready to use the resources of the Affirming Health Care Trust Fund to support them, their patients, and their life-saving work.”
Providers and advocates across the Commonwealth celebrated the funding as a major win for health care access and equity, while calling on other states to follow Massachusetts’ lead.
"I am grateful—to the legislative partners who made this possible, and for the chance to have played a part in it,” said Executive Vice President of Donor Engagement and External Relations for Fenway Health Dallas Ducar. “The Affirming Health Care Trust Fund is what it looks like when a Commonwealth decides to be clear about its values. Massachusetts is the only state in the nation to have successfully established and funded a backstop like this, and that should not remain true for long. We need other states to follow the leadership this Legislature has shown. In Massachusetts, we know who we are, and we know that freedom means the freedom to access affirming care. That clarity is rare right now, and it is worth protecting—and worth replicating.”
“Massachusetts continues to lead the way forward for transgender communities by expanding the Affirming Health Care Trust Fund, which is absolutely vital to protecting and uplifting trans and gender-diverse people throughout the state,” said Transhealth CEO Jo Erwin. “While gender- affirming care remains under relentless attack across the country, all of us here at Transhealth are deeply grateful for our state Legislature and Administration, who, together have set the national standard for their inspired leadership and commitment to this care.”
"Healthcare for transgender people is under unprecedented and relentless attack by the Trump Administration,” said Ben Klein, Senior Director of Litigation and HIV Law at GLAD Law.
“This funding is the result of months-long advocacy from Senator Cyr, his colleagues, and advocates across the Commonwealth,” said Massachusetts Hospital Association Vice President of Policy & Regulatory Affairs Leigh Simons. “We commend their extensive efforts to support the care needs of everyone in Massachusetts, as patients remain at the very heart of everything we do.”
“We applaud our state Legislature and Administration for their continued commitment to building the infrastructure needed to ensure that transgender people in Massachusetts have access to essential medical care."