Dear [Your Elected Official],

<p>I urge you to vote NO on SB2031 in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.</p> <p>This bill is based on the false assumption that there has been coercion in youth gender-affirming care. KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation, noted in an October 10, 2024 report: "Gender-affirming surgeries for minors are also extremely rare and decisions around all gender affirming care involve a meticulous and lengthy process with minor, parental, and medical provider involvement."</p> <p>Painting a target on health care professionals is a bad move for Tennessee. In January, WSMV cited a report by the American Board of Pediatrics that stated, "Tennessee is facing a shortage of pediatricians, with health experts reporting about eight pediatricians for every 10,000 children statewide." </p> <p>The AMA noted a significant rise in medical liability costs in January of 2025:</p> <ul> <li>"The proportion of reported liability insurance premiums that rose from one year to the next hit 49.8% in 2024. By contrast, that figure stood at just 13.7% in 2018 and hovered around 15% in the three years prior to that.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>Among the 50 states and Washington, D.C., 46 reported at least one premium increase last year. That’s up from 36 that did so in 2023, 38 in 2022 and 32 in 2021.</li> </ul> <ul> <li>16 states saw at least one premium increase of 10% or more, up from 11 states in 2023, 15 states in 2022 and 12 states in 2021."</li> </ul> <p>This bill's effort to discredit gender-affirming care will have an impact on everyone's health care in Tennessee by putting further pressure on our limited number of pediatricians and contributing to the financial strain on medical practices across the state.</p> <p>Thank you for considering my views.</p>