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Read. Follow. Verify.Kentucky Bill Prohibits Public Funds and Government Health Plans from Covering Gender Transition Services
Last action · February 20, 2026: reassigned to State Government (H)Sponsors: Josh Calloway and 6 others
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What This Bill Proposed
Kentucky House Bill 553 prohibits state and local government entities, public employee health plans, Medicaid, , and public university health plans from providing coverage, reimbursement, or public funds for . The measure also revokes professional licenses for health care providers who perform these services while employed by a government entity and classifies intentional violations by public servants as official misconduct.
- The Kentucky General Assembly is the state legislature responsible for enacting statutory laws and amendments. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Health care providers
Health care providers are prohibited from rendering gender transition services while employed by a state or local government and face mandatory license revocation for violations.
State and local government employees
Medicaid and KCHIP beneficiaries
Public assistance programs are statutorily prohibited from expending funds or providing benefits for gender transition services and cross-sex hormones prescribed for gender dysphoria.
School districts and family resource centers
School districts are prohibited from offering gender transition services or referrals within family resource and youth services centers.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this bill affect private health insurance plans not connected to the state?
What happens to a health care provider who violates these restrictions?
Are there any exceptions included in the definition of gender transition services?
Can school-based family resource and youth services centers make referrals for gender transition services?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
3 actions- Feb 20, 2026HouseCommitteereassigned to State Government (H)
- Feb 10, 2026HouseCommitteeto Banking & Insurance (H)
- Feb 3, 2026HouseIntroducedintroduced in House to Committee on Committees (H)
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Comprehensive Prohibition Across Multiple State Sectors
The bill amends numerous independent chapters of the Kentucky Revised Statutes simultaneously—encompassing criminal law, emergency management, Medicaid, public employee insurance, higher education, and juvenile services—to enforce a uniform ban on public funding and coverage for gender transition services.
Connected Entities
Sources
apps.legislature.ky.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy95Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz75Current news / social attention level
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