By Alex Baumhardt | Senior reporter
An Oregon law requiring that insurers operating in the state cover transgender medical services will go quietly unenforced. Reporter Jake Thomas brings us the story of state health regulators’ plan to forgo evaluating whether Oregon’s commercial and Medicaid insurers are covering transgender patients’ needs, out of concern that Trump administration officials could seek the data collected and ultimately put those patients’ private health information at risk. The law requires the state to collect detailed carrier, provider and individual claims information about gender-affirming care.
Jenn Burleton, the Beaverton-based founder of the TransActive Gender Project, characterized the move as playing into the Trump administration’s attempt to disrupt access to gender-affirming care and “the end game of instilling fear in people.”
Also in today's edition:
A former Republican House lawmaker and former Salem city councilor vie to lead Oregon's 11th Senate District.
Measles cases reach historic highs.
Trump continues to go after Fed Board’s Lisa Cook.
News tips, feedback or questions? Email us at [email protected]
By Jake Thomas
Oregon’s efforts to protect gender-affirming care are being tested by a federal government actively hostile to it. (Photo by Nadzeya Haroshka/iStock / Getty Images Plus)
Three years after Oregon lawmakers passed a law requiring insurers to cover transgender medical services, state regulators have quietly delayed their efforts to ensure the law is making a difference for a group that’s long faced barriers to care.
By Shaanth Nanguneri
Former Salem City Councilor Virginia Stapleton (left) is vying against former Rep. Tracy Cramer, R-Gervais, for Oregon's 11th Senate District seat in November. (Photos courtesy of both campaigns)
The race to take over the seat of outgoing state Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer, who is barred from seeking reelection under Oregon law, is pitting a former Republican House lawmaker against a former Salem city councilor who both lost their previous legislative races in 2024.
FROM OUR D.C. BUREAU
Measles cases reach 4,080 for the year — the highest in decades | Tim Henderson (Stateline)
MORE FROM THE CAPITAL CHRONICLE
Former state senator and Clatsop County commissioner make their pitch to North Coast voters | Mia Maldonado
OTHER OREGON NEWS Some stories may be behind paywalls.
Blasting a butte: Oakridge residents take water, air concerns to commissioners, again | Lookout Eugene-Springfield
ICE agents deploy tear gas on group gathered in NE Salem | Salem Reporter
Thanks for reading Your Daily Chronicle. Did you know our weekend digest is also free? Sign up here. And if you enjoyed today’s edition, please forward to a friend. Increasing our readership helps us cover more news.