In an interview with Fox News Digital, Dr. Quentin Van Meter backed HHS plans to end Medicaid support for youth sex-change treatments and outlined further changes he believes are needed in transgender policy.
The Oregon Department of Corrections (DOC) hired a gender-affirming care coordinator last month, and the job will pay between $78,000 and $115,000 annually.
The job includes oversight of a program for "managing and monitoring needs and safety risks of transgender, intersex and non-binary adults in custody," according to the listing. The position also chairs a multidisciplinary team focused on their individualized needs.
The role, which comes as the DOC is projected to have a $55 million deficit in 2026, continues gender-related initiatives spearheaded by Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a longtime champion of the trans community, as she pursues re-election to a second term.
It also highlights the logistical difficulties associated with trans prisoners.
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Democratic gubernatorial nominee Tina Kotek speaks with members of the media before casting her ballot at a ballot drop box Nov. 2, 2022, in Portland, Ore. (Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images)
After a 2023 review of Oregon’s only women-only prison, the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, Kotek said her administration would look for ways to address what the report called delayed care for its cisgender and trans inmates.
"Transgender residents [are] being denied or delayed access to needed care, including hormone replacement therapy. This creates significant medical and mental health issues for some residents, including gender dysphoria," the report stated.
The report included one example of a transgender resident at the Coffee Creek who said her request for continuing her hormone blocker treatment had gone unheeded.
"I had been accessing prescriptions at the county. I did not get it when I got here. … I sent several [requests], but they kept bumping me to different places. Now I’ve gotten my period twice. It’s been terrorizing and humiliating," the resident, a biological woman, said.
Kotek promised to address issues raised by the report.
"In the wake of national, systemic shortcomings in meeting the needs of women who are incarcerated, I am resolved to confront these issues head-on," Kotek said in a press release.
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The Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, a women's prison and prisoner intake center operated by the Oregon Department of Corrections, is located in Wilsonville, Ore. It opened in 1991. (Kelly Jordan/Statesman Journal)
