SPRINGFIELD, MASSACHUSETTS — Baystate Health, based in Springfield, Massachusetts, announced in February that it would no longer provide gender-affirming medications to minors and would offer only counseling. The health system is among providers choosing not to offer puberty blockers and hormones while the issue proceeds through the courts.

Baystate spokesperson Heather Duggan stated the decision to end treatment for minors reflected the fact that Baystate could lose hundreds of millions of dollars in government reimbursement due to the Trump administration's plans. A letter sent to patients' families by Baystate Health did not explain the reason for ending treatment for minors. Duggan also stated that nearly 70 percent of Baystate Health's patients rely on Medicaid and Medicare for coverage.

In spring 2026, a federal judge concluded in a lawsuit joined by Massachusetts that it was unlawful for the Department of Health and Human Services to threaten federal funding for providers offering gender-affirming care to minors. In June 2026, a federal judge cleared 16 states, including Massachusetts, to move forward with a lawsuit against the administration over its push to criminalize gender-affirming care. Transhealth reported taking on more than 200 new patients after Baystate Health and other health systems stopped providing gender-affirming medications to youths.

In late 2024, a sixth-grader referred to by the nickname Bug told his parents he was a boy and would use he/him pronouns. Bug's mother, identified only by the initial J, stated the family moved from Texas to Massachusetts earlier in the year due to the state's liberal and inclusive politics. Bug began taking testosterone at Transhealth in the spring. Bug said he felt frustrated that Baystate Health would stop providing the care.

A mother identified by the initial L stated that before her child came out as a transgender girl, the child had been severely depressed and battling suicidal thoughts. L stated that after Baystate doctors prescribed puberty blockers and estrogen, her daughter's mood and grades rose markedly. L stated she and other parents filed civil rights complaints with the Massachusetts attorney general. L stated there is awareness of the impact pulling care could have on a youth from physical and mental health perspectives.