Elliot Page blasts Trump’s ‘assault on healthcare’ over hospitals ending trans youth care
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Elliot Page has spoken out against what he described as the Trump administration’s “coordinated assault on health care”, arguing that transgender youth and their families have been disproportionately affected by the administration’s policies.
The Umbrella Academy and Odyssey actor joined a rally outside NYU Langone Health in New York City on 23 September, where trans people and allies protested the hospital system’s decision to stop providing gender-affirming care to minors.
Page later appeared in a video produced with the Gender Liberation Movement, filmed during the demonstration and posted to Instagram on 1 October.
In the video, Page linked the fight over gender-affirming care to wider cuts to the US healthcare system.
“He’s already gutted Medicaid and 7.5 million people are projected to lose coverage,” Page said, referring to President Donald Trump.
“While these cuts have hit so many, trans youth and their families have been at the center of them.”
The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the 2025 reconciliation law signed by Trump will increase the number of people without health insurance by 7.5 million in 2034, while reducing Medicaid enrolment by 12.9 million.
Page’s comments come as hospitals across the US face pressure from the Trump administration over gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
‘A coordinated assault on health care’
In January 2025, Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to prioritise action against providers offering gender-affirming care to minors, care which the administration dubbed “chemical and surgical mutilation” in its literature.
The Justice Department subsequently launched investigations into hospitals and healthcare providers, with the administration threatening federal funding as part of its campaign against the treatment.
That pressure has had a particularly significant impact in New York, where several major hospital systems previously provided gender-affirming care to transgender young people.
NYU Langone reached an agreement with the Justice Department in September, resolving federal investigations into its treatment of minors. The hospital said the agreement removed the threat that it would have to hand over confidential information about under-18 patients who had received gender-affirming care.
NYU Langone said it had not entered the settlement because of wrongdoing and denied liability. The agreement did not affect its paediatric mental health programmes or care for patients aged 18 and over.
Mount Sinai also reached a deal with the Justice Department earlier in September.
Under the agreement, Mount Sinai agreed to stop providing puberty blockers, hormones and surgical procedures to minors, while also paying a monetary penalty and dedicating $2 million to free medical care for people who had previously received gender-affirming treatment. The Justice Department described the provision as care for people experiencing what it characterised as harmful consequences of treatment.
Elliot Page specifically criticised Mount Sinai’s agreement in his video.
“Despite state-wide protections and expressed support for this care from officials like New York Attorney General Tish James and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, these institutions caved to threats from Trump’s Department of Justice,” he said.
“Mount Sinai even agreed to establish a detransition fund — the often coercive ending of gender transition, which uses the same logic as conversion therapy.”
‘These hospitals know it’
Page argued that the hospitals involved are not unaware of the impact that cutting off gender-affirming care can have on trans young people and their families.
“Kids’ lives are on the line,” he said as protesters chanted behind him.
“Gender-affirming care gives trans youth a sense of belonging, of wholeness, of their inherent value. And these hospitals know it.”
He accused hospital administrators of choosing to end care because of “bigoted politics”, while arguing that doctors within the institutions continued to believe in the medical evidence supporting gender-affirming treatment.
Page also highlighted the wider effect of anti-trans policies on families.
As more US states have restricted gender-affirming care for minors, some transgender young people and their families have travelled or relocated to states where access remains available.
Research from The Trevor Project has found that anti-LGBTQ+ policies can have significant effects on LGBTQ+ young people’s mental health. Its 2025 national survey found that 86% of transgender and non-binary young people said recent LGBTQ+-related policies, laws and debates made them feel unsafe, while 38% said such policies had led them or their families to consider moving to another state.
Page also referenced research published in Nature Human Behaviour examining the relationship between anti-transgender state laws and suicide attempts among transgender and non-binary young people.
The study, based on data from more than 61,000 young people, found that the introduction of anti-transgender laws was associated with increases in past-year suicide attempts of up to 72% among some groups of transgender and non-binary youth.
Page used the findings to argue that denying gender-affirming care has serious consequences.
“The Trump administration claims to care about child safety, but their reasoning is based on lies,” he said.
“Gender-affirming care for youth is necessary, backed by science, and supported by every major credible medical association.”
He added: “One day, many will look back on all of this and say, ‘We should have known better.’ But we do know better, right now, that denying this care hurts children and leads to increased depression and worse.”
‘Don’t stand on the sidelines’
Page ended his message by backing the demands of the protesters, who are calling on New York hospitals to restore gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
“We demand these hospitals restart care, meet with families, and apologise for abandoning them,” he said.
“Don’t stand on the sidelines. Join the movement. Speak out. Donate.”
The actor’s intervention comes after years of speaking publicly about transgender rights and healthcare.
Page came out as transgender in 2020 and has since become one of the most prominent trans actors and advocates in Hollywood.
If you’ve been affected by this story, you can reach out to Mind on 0300 123 3393, Switchboard on 0800 0119 100 or the Samaritans on 116 123.
Readers in the US can call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741
