Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 44, November 2, 2024
Section 7.921 - Responsibilities of Commonwealth agencies(a) Agencies under the Governor's jurisdiction are directed to pursue opportunities and coordinate with each other to protect Commonwealth residents, particularly children, youth and vulnerable adults, from conversion therapy to the fullest extent of their authority.(b) To protect the mental health of and well-being of Commonwealth residents, especially children, the Department of Human Services, the Insurance Department, the Department of State and any other applicable agencies are directed to explore and implement all options to ensure State funds, programs, contracts and other resources are not used for the purposes of providing, authorizing, endorsing, reimbursing for or referring for conversion therapy, to the extent permitted by law.(c) The Department of Human Services is directed to receive and investigate any reports of claims that have been paid for conversion therapy through the Medical Assistance Program and the Children's Health Insurance Program.(d) The Department of State is directed to inform licensed health care practitioners in this Commonwealth that the Commonwealth discourages the provision of and reimbursement for conversion therapy, and the Department of State shall inform the public of the mechanisms available to report licensed professionals that cause harm to patients as a result of conversion therapy.(e) The Insurance Department is directed to commit to discouraging commercial insurers from providing reimbursement for conversion therapy, to the extent permitted by law. The Insurance Department is also directed to receive and investigate any reports of commercial insurance claims that have been paid for conversion therapy. To prohibit unlawful discrimination, the Insurance Department shall also receive and investigate any complaints that insurers are discriminating against consumers by automatically or categorically denying or excluding coverage of gender-related care in violation of Federal law.(f) To support LGBTQIA+ children, youth and their families, the Department of Human Services is directed to develop resource guides that outline science and evidence-based best practices on family preservation and available community and local LGBTQIA+ affirming entities and services for families to support an LGBTQIA+ child or youth, as well as resources for caring for LGBTQIA+ children and youth within the child welfare system, including caring for their physical and mental health and well-being. The Department of Human Services shall ensure that child welfare staff and contracted providers have available resources and training to provide family preservation, pre-placement, placement and adoption and permanency services to LGBTQIA+ children and youth and their families.(g) To ensure the Commonwealth is a premier employer, the Office of Administration is directed to review and update, as necessary, employee trainings and make available to Commonwealth employees, managers and supervisors training about supporting LGBTQIA+ employees, including employees who may transition or voluntarily disclose that they are seeking gender-affirming care during their employment, and provide information regarding the privacy and protection of personal health information.(h) To ensure the Commonwealth provides high-quality and inclusive customer service, the Governor's Office, the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, the Department of Human Services and the Office of Advocacy and Reform are directed to convene a group of Commonwealth residents with lived experience navigating health care and government systems through a gender identity transition to help inform the Commonwealth's customer service transformation initiative regarding that process as well as any issues related to the experience of LGBTQIA+ Commonwealth residents navigating State government systems.(i) Further, agencies under the Governor's jurisdiction shall regularly review and update, if necessary, the following: (1) Forms to use gender-neutral language whenever practical in external documents, including but not limited to using gender-neutral terms and pronouns or drafting to eliminate the need for pronouns or gendered language.(2) Forms and online systems that collect voluntary demographic information to allow for submission of inclusive gender identity and sexual orientation data, to the extent permitted by law.