New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced plans to introduce legislation that would practically eliminate gay conversion therapy in the state. Governor Cuomo’s plan would ensure that conversion therapy would no longer be covered by insurance providers or Medicare, which would practically eliminate the practice in the state, according to the New York Times report.
Cuomo’s plan would prevent insurance companies from covering conversation therapy costs on those younger than 18. By eliminating the therapy’s insurance, those seeking therapy for their children will be discouraged and the therapy providers will lose much of their business. The legislation would also prevent any center overseen by the State Office of Mental Health from offering conversation therapy.
In a statement, Cuomo called conversion therapy “a hateful and fundamentally flawed practice,” adding that the state will no longer allow “the misguided and the intolerant to punish L.G.B.T. young people for simply being who they are.”
New York moves to stop gay conversion therapy for youths https://t.co/1igSg8tNwg #7News pic.twitter.com/LmvsmMMzlz
— 7News Boston WHDH (@7News) February 7, 2016
Conversion therapy is still practiced by some religious groups, but recently the practice has come under fire from lawmakers. Its also been criticized by the American Psychiatric Association and the American Medical Association.
Last year, President Obama spoke out against the debunked practice after the suicide of Leelah Alcorn, a transgender 17-year old. Four states and Washington, D.C. have since stopped insurance providers from covering it.
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