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Oklahoma Gov. Stitt signed SB904 barring Medicaid and public funds for gender-transition procedures

On May 12, 2026, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 904, prohibiting the state Medicaid program from reimbursing gender-transition procedures and barring the use of any public funds, state property, or state facilities for such procedures for transgender residents of any age. The law carries an emergency clause taking effect immediately on signing and creates a criminal penalty for violations. It cleared the state Senate 39-8 in March 2026 and the House 77-14 in May before reaching the governor's desk.

Jurisdiction
Oklahoma
Location
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Abuses documented

Actors

On May 12, 2026, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed Senate Bill 904 into law, prohibiting the state Medicaid program from reimbursing gender-transition procedures and barring the use of any public funds, state property, or state facilities to provide such procedures. Authored by state Sen. Todd Gollihare (R-Kellyville), the measure applies to transgender residents of any age, carries an emergency clause that took effect immediately upon signing, and establishes a criminal penalty for violations. The bill passed the Oklahoma Senate 39-8 in March 2026 and the House of Representatives 77-14 in May before reaching the governor's desk.

SB904 extends Oklahoma's restrictions on gender-affirming care beyond an earlier ban covering minors, cutting off publicly funded care for transgender adults by ending Medicaid coverage and prohibiting the use of state-supported facilities and funds for transition-related procedures. Supporters framed the law as barring taxpayer dollars from paying for the care; the ACLU of Oklahoma and providers said the ban strips coverage that transgender residents relied on and singles out a specific group for exclusion from publicly funded medical care that remains available for other purposes.

Updates

2026-05-12 — OU Health ceased gender-affirming care coverage under SB904 [4]

OU Health, Oklahoma's largest academic health system, notified employees it would stop covering gender-affirming care under its health plan effective the day Gov. Stitt signed SB904, citing the law's restrictions on using state property and public funds to provide such care. A patient who had been receiving hormone therapy through an OU Health endocrinologist said he learned of the change from his mother, an OU Health employee, the same day.

Why we recorded this

Public health-care funding must be administered on equal terms; singling out one group for categorical exclusion from otherwise-available care is discrimination written into law. SB904 bars Oklahoma's Medicaid program and any public funds, property, or state facilities from being used for gender-transition procedures for transgender residents of any age, and attaches a criminal penalty for violations. The measure uses the state's spending and licensing power to deny a specific, identifiable class access to medical care that remains available to others, extending Oklahoma's earlier ban on such care for minors to cut off publicly funded care for transgender adults as well. This archive records when officials enact policy that targets a marginalized group for unequal treatment through the machinery of state funding.

Sources

  1. Senate Approves Gollihare Bill Prohibiting Medicaid Funding for Gender Transition Procedures — Oklahoma State Senate primary accessed July 10, 2026
  2. Oklahoma SB904 (2026) — bill history — LegiScan primary accessed July 10, 2026
  3. New laws impact foster care children, gender-affirming care for Oklahoma adults — Oklahoma Voice secondary accessed July 10, 2026
  4. New Oklahoma law disrupts gender-affirming care for transgender adults — Oklahoma Voice investigative accessed July 14, 2026

See also