BILLINGS — Billings Clinic has stopped providing gender affirming care services, leaving some longtime transgender patients searching for new providers.
Watch the full story below:
Other options remain in Billings, but patients say losing one of the region's largest providers leaves a significant gap. With Billings Clinic no longer offering gender affirming care services, people will have to rely on much smaller clinics like Planned Parenthood or Alliance Health and Wellness.
For Amanda Nelson, word of the change came in a letter.
Nelson said she was told her provider was no longer with Billings Clinic, and that she would need to find someone new.
"It's hard on the community because it cuts jobs, like they eliminate staff, special programs," Nelson said.
Nelson, who transitioned from male to female, said the loss goes beyond her own care.
MTN asked Billings Clinic why it stopped offering the services. The clinic declined an interview, but in a statement said it "does not have a policy that prohibits providers from discussing gender affirming care with adult patients." The hospital is now referring those patients elsewhere.
The change comes as gender affirming care remains at the center of a national political and legal battle. President Trump has pushed to restrict gender affirming care for young people.
Montana lawmakers took up the issue even earlier, passing Senate Bill 99 in 2023, restricting some gender affirming medical treatments for minors. Billings Republican Kerri Seekins-Crowe helped lead that effort.
A Montana judge ultimately blocked enforcement of the law, but Seekins-Crowe still stands by it.
"If we want to help folks, that it would be in the mental health area, not necessarily in the plastic surgery area with that," Seekins-Crowe said.
Nelson sees it very differently.
"It's for everyone that's born male or female plus the transgender community." Nelson said.
For Nelson, this issue now isn't politics, it's about finding a new provider and continuing her care.
"We do need that in-depth care that Billings Clinic provides," Nelson said.
