Trump admin eliminates health care programs for LGBTQ+ veterans

The Department of Veterans Affairs has ordered health facilities nationwide to eliminate gender identity-based initiatives and strip the LGBTQ+ designation from a network of medical coordinators created to help LGBTQ+ veterans navigate care, according to an internal memorandum obtained by The Advocate.The June 12 directive, signed by Veterans Health Administration Under Secretary for Health John J. Bartrum, the VA official who oversees the nation's largest integrated health care system, is the latest move by the Trump administration to remove references to LGBTQ+ and transgender identities from federal programs. It also raises new questions about the future of a specialized support network the VA created to address documented disparities affecting LGBTQ+ people who served their country and earned medical care at the agency.Related: Inside the Veterans Affairs Department’s underground resistance to Trump’s care ban for transgender vetsMedical professionals at U.S.-based VA hospitals who reviewed the memorandum told The Advocate that staff members immediately began expressing concern. “People are worried this will mean loss of programming and services that are uniquely designed for LGBTQ+ veterans,” one provider at a VA medical center told The Advocate under the condition of anonymity to speak freely.Employees are questioning whether programs such as PRIDE in All Who Served and CBT-PRISM could survive under the new guidance, the provider said.PRIDE in All Who Served is a VA-developed, 10-week health education and support program for LGBTQ+ veterans that the department has recognized as a best practice. The VA has reported that participants experienced reductions in depression, anxiety, suicide risk, and identity-related stigma, along with increased social connectedness and engagement with care. CBT-PRISM is an affirmative mental health intervention that adapts cognitive behavioral therapy to address the effects of stigma, discrimination, and minority stress on