DFL lawmakers aim to assist people who move to Minnesota after trans refuge bill

Democratic-Farmer-Labor legislators are hoping to pass bills this year that will build upon last session’s work to support people who are coming to Minnesota for gender-affirming health care.

The DFL majority passed and Gov. Tim Walz signed a bill last year that deems Minnesota a refuge state for transgender people, protecting them from legal repercussions for traveling to or moving to Minnesota for gender-affirming care.

Lawmakers on Wednesday heard two bills authored by Rep. Leigh Finke, DFL-St. Paul — one to allocate $1 million to a nonprofit to assist people who are seeking gender-affirming care in Minnesota, looking for housing and applying for jobs; and the second mandating that health insurers that operate in Minnesota cover gender-affirming care.

Finke, the state’s first openly transgender lawmaker, said during a hearing on the first bill that families who move to Minnesota for gender-affirming health care need a “soft landing.” It would assist health workers looking to come to Minnesota to provide gender-affirming care and those who are seeking the care.

She also said Minnesota is one of the few places where trans people are accepted — and one of only a few states that would spend money to assist the LGBTQ community. 

“This is a little money in one of the very, very few places in the entire country that is looking out for this community,” Finke said. 

The money would go to the PFund Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides resources and grants to LGBTQ people in the Midwest. PFund would then allocate the funds to other nonprofits, which would use the funds to assist LGBTQ people. Finke, who serves as executive director of the nonprofit Queer Equity Institute, said QEI is not eligible to apply for the funds.

Rep. Natalie Zeleznikar, R-Fredenberg Township, questioned why the funds were specifically to assist trans people, as other people who come to Minnesota also need assistance, like veterans and people with disabilities.

Later in the day, Finke also presented a bill that would mandate Minnesota health insurance companies cover gender-affirming care. This was one in a slew of bills heard in the House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee on Wednesday that would mandate health insurers provide coverage on a variety of services, including abortion, infertility treatment and prosthetics for amputees. 

Coverage for gender-affirming care is already mandated for health insurers because of Minnesota’s Human Rights Act and other policies, but Finke said it was important to codify it into law to ensure “everyone has a clear understanding of what it means to administer and cover it.”

Kat Rohn, OutFront Minnesota executive director, testified that the bill would allow people to access the best health care services.

“It will have life-changing impacts for folks who have had to wrangle with insurance providers over the years,” Rohn said.

Lawmakers advanced the Finke bills, and they will be heard in future committee hearings.

Republicans voted against the health mandate bill in a voice vote.