Trans Resource Navigator

Gender-affirming care in Georgia

Care for adults
Allowed
Care for people under 18
Banned
Georgia Medicaid (including Georgia Pathways to Coverage) pays for hormones
Unclear
Georgia Medicaid (including Georgia Pathways to Coverage) pays for surgery
Unclear
Private plans must cover care
No state rule

Adults in Georgia can get hormone therapy and surgery; there is no state law restricting adult care outside prisons. For people under 18, Georgia bans hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery (SB 140, since July 1, 2023), though puberty blockers remain legal. Georgia has no shield law and no insurance nondiscrimination law. Informed-consent clinics and telehealth services operate in Atlanta.

Draft from official sources, September 24, 2026. Not yet checked by a person. How we verify

On this page
  1. If you are under 18, or a parent
  2. Health centers near you
  3. Hormones by telehealth
  4. Clinics, programs, and funds
  5. Paying for care
  6. Rules for adults
  7. Laws and court cases
  8. Sources

If you are under 18, or a parent

SB 140 (2023), effective July 1, 2023, prohibits for anyone under 18 being treated for gender dysphoria: (1) sex reassignment surgeries and other surgeries that alter primary or secondary sex characteristics, and (2) hormone replacement therapy (O.C.G.A. § 43-34-15; hospitals and licensed facilities under § 31-7-3.5).

  • Still legal: puberty blockers, mental health care, and social transition. A 2026 Senate amendment (HB 54) to ban puberty blockers did not become law.
  • Exceptions: minors already on hormone therapy before July 1, 2023 may continue; care for intersex conditions (differences of sex development, partial androgen insensitivity); treatment for conditions other than gender dysphoria.
  • Penalties: physicians face discipline by the Georgia Composite Medical Board; facilities can lose their permit.
  • Medicaid: a federal CMS rule bars state Medicaid and CHIP from covering puberty blockers, hormones, and surgery for minors starting October 13, 2026 (current patients may be covered for up to six months).

Families traveling to another state for care should ask a lawyer about Georgia's rules; Georgia has no shield law.

[1][2][4][8]

Community health centers near you

These federally funded centers must see you whether or not you have insurance, and charge based on income. Many, but not all, prescribe hormone therapy. Call and ask for "gender-affirming care" or "hormone therapy."

Sorting by distance uses your location only on this device. It is never sent anywhere.

Hormones by telehealth

These services prescribe hormones through video visits for people in this state. Point of Pride pays for a year and a half of care with several of them each spring.

  • Plume

    PaidNo Medicaid18+

    Trans-led telehealth service providing informed-consent hormone therapy, lab orders, prescriptions, and letters for surgery and documents, by app and video visit. Self-pay only since January 2026. A Point of Pride HRT Access Fund partner.

    About $99 per month ($90 in NY and NJ), which includes visits, messaging, prescriptions, and document letters. Labs and medications are billed separately and are often cheap with GoodRx or at a community pharmacy. Free for 18 months if you win a Point of Pride HRT Access Fund grant.

  • FOLX Health

    InsuranceTakes insuranceNo Medicaid18+

    LGBTQ-focused telehealth offering hormone therapy, PrEP, primary care, and mental health visits. Accepts major commercial insurance (Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare) but not Medicaid or Medicare. A Point of Pride HRT Access Fund partner.

    In-network with many commercial plans; self-pay membership about $69 to $98 per month all-inclusive.

  • Planned Parenthood

    Sliding scaleTakes insurance

    Many Planned Parenthood affiliates provide informed-consent gender-affirming hormone therapy alongside sexual and reproductive health care, on a sliding scale and with Medicaid. Most affiliates see adults 18 and older; a few see 16- and 17-year-olds with parental consent and a readiness letter. Many start hormone care by telehealth. Self-pay initial consults typically run about $120 to $250 before sliding-scale discounts.

Clinics, programs, and funds

Paying for care

Medicaid (Georgia Medicaid (including Georgia Pathways to Coverage))[9][8][11][12]

Adults who do not qualify for traditional Medicaid may qualify through Georgia Pathways to Coverage, which requires you to meet and report "qualifying activities". Pathways eligibility rules change on January 1, 2027; check pathways.georgia.gov.

We could not confirm Georgia Medicaid's written policy on gender-affirming care. The Movement Advancement Project lists Georgia Medicaid as explicitly covering transgender-related care for adults; no state law excludes it. For minors, federal rules end coverage in October 2026. If you are enrolled, ask your care management organization (CMO) for prior authorization and request any denial in writing so you can appeal.

Apply for coverage

Private insurance[10][13][14][7]

Georgia has no state law barring insurers from excluding gender-affirming care, so coverage depends on your plan. Marketplace (ACA) plans and employer plans may cover it or exclude it. If your plan denies care, appeal in writing; A4TE's Trans Health Project has appeal templates. You can file a complaint about a state-regulated insurer with the Georgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance.

Employer plans in Georgia are also shaped by the 11th Circuit's 2025 en banc ruling in Lange v. Houston County, which held that a county plan's exclusion of "sex change" surgery did not violate Title VII; the case went back to the trial court.

File an insurance complaint

The rules in detail

Rules for adultsNo state law limits gender-affirming care for adults in the community.

No state law limits gender-affirming care for adults in the community. Several Atlanta providers prescribe hormones on an informed consent basis (no therapist letter), including the Feminist Center for Reproductive Liberation (18+) and QueerMed (telehealth and in person), and national telehealth services such as Plume and FOLX serve Georgia.

Exceptions and fights to watch:

  • State prisons: SB 185 (2025) banned state funds for hormone therapy and surgery for people in state custody. A federal judge blocked it in September 2025 and struck it down in December 2025; the state has appealed to the 11th Circuit. For now, doctors in the Department of Corrections may prescribe hormones based on individual medical need.
  • State Health Benefit Plan: under a 2023 settlement the plan covers gender-affirming care. SB 39 and an amended HB 54 would have ended that coverage and barred state-owned hospitals from providing care; both passed the Senate but did not become law before the 2025-2026 session ended.

If you have no insurance and little money: go to a community health center (sliding scale; find one at findahealthcenter.hrsa.gov), compare telehealth self-pay prices (QueerMed lists $99 a month including labs, not medications), and apply to Point of Pride's HRT Access Fund.

[15][16][17][6][4][5][3][2][21]
Laws and court cases2 court cases, 2 laws

Challenge to SB 185 (incarcerated plaintiffs v. Georgia Department of Corrections officials)

People in Georgia prisons can receive hormone therapy when their doctors find it medically necessary, while the appeal is pending.[6]

Five transgender people in state custody challenged SB 185's ban on state-funded hormone therapy in prisons. The court blocked the law in September 2025 and permanently struck it down in December 2025 under the Eighth Amendment. The state appealed. Last update 2025-12-08.

Lange v. Houston County

Employers in Georgia can currently rely on this ruling to keep exclusions in their health plans.[7]

A transgender sheriff's deputy challenged her county health plan's exclusion of gender-affirming surgery. In September 2025 the full 11th Circuit reversed her earlier jury win, holding the exclusion was not sex discrimination under Title VII, and sent the case back. Last update 2025-09-10.

  • SB 140 (2023); O.C.G.A. §§ 31-7-3.5, 43-34-15: Prohibits hormone therapy and gender-affirming surgery for minors with gender dysphoria; effective July 1, 2023
  • SB 185 (2025): Bars state funds for gender-affirming care for people in state and county correctional custody (struck down in federal court; on appeal)

Sources

22 sources. Numbers in the text, like [1], point here.Show all
  1. SB 140 (2023), treatment of gender dysphoria in minorsGeorgia General Assembly, Law. accessed
    “The following irreversible procedures and therapies performed on a minor for the treatment of gender dysphoria are prohibited in this state: (1) Sex reassignment surgeries ... (2) Hormone replacement therapies. ... (4) Continued treatment of minors who are, prior to July 1, 2023, being treated with irreversible hormone replacement therapies.”
  2. HB 54 (2025-2026), status historyGeorgia General Assembly, Official page. accessed
    “2/10/2026 Senate Agreed to House Amendment to Senate Substitute as Amended”
  3. SB 39 (2025-2026), status historyGeorgia General Assembly, Official page. accessed
    “2026-04-02: House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute”
  4. Georgia Senate passes surprise ban on puberty blockers for minorsGeorgia Recorder, News. accessed
    “Another amendment to the bill, authored by Vidalia Republican Sen. Blake Tillery, would bar Georgia's state health insurance plan from covering gender-affirming care for state employees and their dependents, and prohibit Georgia's state-owned hospitals from providing such care.”
  5. Georgia lawmakers on verge of ending trans care in state health plan, state prisonsGeorgia Recorder, News. accessed
    “Those numbers include $365,000 paid out in a 2023 settlement in which the state agreed to provide coverage for gender-affirming care and not to restrict it again.”
  6. Georgia officials appeal ruling that blocked ban on gender-affirming care in state prisonsGeorgia Recorder, News. accessed
    “A federal judge has struck down Georgia's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender inmates in state custody, but the state is appealing the decision.”
  7. Georgia transgender sheriff's deputy seeking coverage for care dealt a setback after earlier winGeorgia Recorder, News. accessed
    “The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down a trial court's decision in favor of Houston County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Anna Lange and sent the case back to the lower court.”
  8. Federal agency blocks Medicaid coverage of kids' gender-affirming care (Stateline)Georgia Recorder / Stateline, News. accessed
    “The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Tuesday a rule that prohibits state Medicaid plans from covering gender-affirming procedures for minors ... The policy takes effect Oct. 13.”
  9. Equality Maps: Medicaid coverage of transgender-related health careMovement Advancement Project, Organization. accessed
    “Georgia: State Medicaid policy explicitly covers transgender-related health care”
  10. Georgia equality profileMovement Advancement Project, Organization. accessed
    “Health Insurance Providers Banned from Excluding Coverage for Transgender People: 0/1”
  11. How to apply for Georgia MedicaidGeorgia Department of Community Health, Official page. accessed
  12. Georgia Pathways to CoverageState of Georgia, Official page. accessed
    “Georgia Pathways offers healthcare coverage to residents who meet program requirements and are not otherwise eligible for traditional Medicaid. ... Pathways eligibility requirements change Jan. 1, 2027.”
  13. File a consumer insurance complaintGeorgia Office of Commissioner of Insurance and Safety Fire, Official page. accessed
  14. Trans Health ProjectAdvocates for Trans Equality, Organization. accessed
  15. Gender Affirming CareFeminist Center for Reproductive Liberation, Organization. accessed
    “At this time, our gender-affirming care is only available to those over the age of 18.”
  16. LocationsQueerMed, Organization. accessed
    “QueerMed Services Available: ... Georgia ...”
  17. Plans and CostsQueerMed, Organization. accessed
    “Self-Pay per Month: $99/month ... All labwork ... Letters for gender marker change ... *Cost of medications not included”
  18. Planned Parenthood SoutheastPlanned Parenthood, Organization. accessed
  19. Sexual Health, PrEP, PEP, STIsPositive Impact Health Centers, Organization. accessed
    “Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) can prevent HIV.”
  20. HIV Prevention ProgramGeorgia Department of Public Health, Official page. accessed
    “For free anonymous information and support, contact the Georgia AIDS & STI InfoLine at 1-800-551-2728.”
  21. Find a Health CenterHealth Resources and Services Administration, Official page. accessed
  22. Transgender Advocacy (TransAction Georgia)Georgia Equality, Organization. accessed