Newsom vetoes two bills that would’ve expanded healthcare access for transsexuals

The California governor’s veto comments cite increased consumer costs.

By Artemis T. Douglas | artemis@theneedlenews.com

On Oct. 13, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed 8 of 10 outstanding bills that enhance trans rights and protections into law. The two bills he vetoed, SB 418 and AB 554 would have ensured healthcare coverage for 12 month stockpiles of hormone replacement therapy and mandated coverage for PrEP to prevent the spread of HIV.

In his veto comments for SB 418, the bill that would’ve covered 12 month stockpiles of HRT, Newsom tells the legislature, “At a time when individuals are facing double-digit rate increases in their health care premiums across the nation, we must take great care to not enact policies that further drive up the cost of health care, no matter how well-intended.”

In his veto comments for AB 554, the PrEP coverage bill, Newsom stated, “However, certain components of this measure raise concerns about affordability. By exceeding the cost-sharing provisions under the ACA, this bill would result in increased costs to health plans, which would then be passed onto consumers. At a time when individuals are facing double-digit rate increases in their health care premiums across the nation, the state must weigh the potential benefits of all new mandates against the comprehensive costs to the entire health care delivery system.”

Newsom’s concerns about cost, which he cited to kill both bills, don’t hold up to scrutiny.

According to the HIV+HEP Policy Institute’s 2022 report on nationwide access to PrEP policy, “Assuming annual HIV treatment costs of $28,950 per person per year in 2019 dollars, or $30,510 in 2021 dollars, results suggests medical cost savings from avoided HIV treatment of more than $2.27 billion over 10 years.”  

In other words, it’s far, far cheaper to prevent HIV with PrEP than it is to treat it. That’s also not getting into the human and social costs of the spread of HIV, which are significant.

HRT is both relatively cheap and absolutely necessary, life-saving care for transsexuals.

By vetoing these bills, Newsom reveals that when it comes to policy, he doesn’t believe medicine for transsexuals is worth the cost- even when the alternative is fundamentally more expensive.

Per the California constitution, if Newsom had left the bills unsigned for long enough, they would've become law. This means that Newsom chose to act and veto healthcare expansions.

It also means that the other 8 trans-related protections bills would've become law without his signature. He intervened only to prevent trans healthcare.