Joe Lombardo
Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo has signed a bill requiring health insurers cover gender-affirming care for transgender minors and adults, bucking expectations as other GOP-led states across the country advance opposing legislation.
The bill Lombardo signed into law Monday, SB163, mandates health insurers including Medicaid cover all medically necessary gender-affirming treatments and eliminate exclusions that have historically been used to avoid paying for treatments classified as “cosmetic.” The bill had passed on party-line votes out of the Legislature, with Republicans opposed.
“I think it's a powerful symbol, actually, to have a Republican governor sign a bill like that,” Sen. Dallas Harris (D-Las Vegas), one of the co-sponsors of the bill, told The Nevada Independent Monday night. “I'm thrilled.”
A spokesperson for the governor did not immediately respond to a text message or email requesting comment about his decision to sign the bill.
Sigal Chattah, the state’s Republican National Committeewoman and candidate for attorney general in 2022, criticized Lombardo’s signing of the bill in a series of messages posted on Twitter, including calling him a “laughingstock.” The Nevada Republican Party also opposed the bill ahead of its first hearing in the Legislature.
Asked by KRNV about his decision to sign the bill, Lombardo said Tuesday, “I implore people to read the bill … It's not as draconian or detrimental or immoral as people are portraying it to be.”
SB163 is one of three major bills introduced during the 82nd legislative session aimed at increasing protections for LGBTQ residents. Lombardo already signed one, SB153, which requires the Nevada Department of Corrections to adopt standards for the protection of transgender, gender nonconforming and nonbinary inmates.
Lombardo vetoed the third LGBTQ protection bill, SB302. It would have protected health care providers giving gender-affirming care from losing their medical license and prohibited the state’s executive branch from helping another state investigate a Nevada provider for offering gender-affirming care.
In his veto message, Lombardo cited concerns over providing gender-affirming care to minors. Supporters said SB302 would not remove existing parental consent laws and would not change the law surrounding minors consenting to medical treatment — meaning minors would still need parental consent for treatment. They emphasized that without the protections proposed under SB302, providers could leave Nevada leading to decreased access to gender-affirming care and potentially exacerbating the state’s provider shortage.
Though SB163 was successful in 2023, a similar measure faced a rockier path during the 2021 session. Scheible brought forward a bill during that session to ensure access to insurance for gender-affirming care, but it was never voted on.