VA rescinds transgender veterans' health guidance as department denies policy change
Source: NPR
Updated March 15, 2025 11:18 PM ET
The Veterans Affairs Department on Friday reversed a policy that had protected gender-affirming healthcare provided to transgender veterans, causing confusion and fear in the community. In an internal VA memo seen by NPR Friday, the VA says it's rescinding Directive 1341, which contains detailed guidance on the kinds of care transgender veterans can receive at VA facilities.
The policy had also directed healthcare providers to use pronouns veterans preferred, directed facilities to allow veterans to use bathrooms and be assigned rooms in accordance with their self-identified gender. The internal memo said that the rescission of the directive "does not affect existing clinical guidance" and that the VA "affirms its commitment to provide care to all Veterans."
After this story was published, VA press secretary Peter Kasperowicz reached out to NPR and denied that there was a policy change. He did not respond to NPR's request to verify the authenticity of the internal memo that announced the policy change before or after publication of NPR's story. By Saturday evening the memo was publicly available on the VA web site. In a statement Saturday, Rep. Mark Takano (D-CA) says the VA is "allowing veterans to be a pawn in the president's cruel political games."
"VA's decision to rescind its directive on providing healthcare for transgender and intersex veterans and VA's announcement that it will be taking additional steps to undertake rulemaking to revise the care offered to transgender veterans are both shameful and cruel" said Takano, who is the highest ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Advocates had been bracing for the rescinding of the directive.
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2025/03/14/nx-s1-5328733/va-transgender-veterans-memo
Link to Rep. Mark Takano (D) PRESS RELEASE - Takano Slams VA’s Latest Attack on Trans & Intersex Veterans
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