Federal and state policies already harming Ohioans, with more to come
Federal policies restricting the rights of trans+ people and veterans overlap with spending cuts driven by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), compounding the harm done to trans+ veterans. State legislators’ decision to use the Ohio budget to redefine sex throughout the Ohio Revised Code only makes matters worse. A new brief from Policy Matters Ohio describes the intersecting impacts on trans+ veterans.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recently announced that it would no longer provide hormone replacement therapy, mental health services, and other non-surgical gender-affirming care options. The OBBBA adds red tape for veterans who use SNAP benefits and Medicaid. The state budget prevents the use of funds for mental health services for trans+ people. Ohio’s trans+ veterans are at the intersection of these harmful policies.
“Despite answering the nation’s call to duty, trans+ veterans are being left behind and excluded from resources, benefits, and services they fought for and earned,” said Heather Smith, co-author of the brief.
Co-author Bree Easterling said, “What our government owes to those who served should not depend on how their bodies are politicized by policymakers. Ohio, and the country, need legislators who serve every veteran, as veterans have dutifully served the nation.”