Education watchdog Campus Reform is spotlighting schools like Pace University in New York, which automatically enrolls full-time students in a health plan that covers so-called gender-affirming care.
The annual rates cost a whopping $4,288 for domestic students and $2,400 for international students.
Pace defends its plan, stating students can waive coverage with proof of comparable insurance.
Esteban Elizondo is an associate and correspondent editor at Campus Reform.
“At Pace, you're automatically enrolled in a $4,300 health care plan that covers what they call, quote-unquote, gender-affirming care. The same thing is going on at Rochester and Johns Hopkins,” Elizondo states.
This is not surprising coming from Pace, a school that has a minor in queer studies, with classes such as “Transgender Studies,” “Queer Theory,” “Lesbians in Literature and Film” and “Understanding Community and Diversity: Queer Cultures.”
While the universities that have these plans call it coverage, Elizondo points out that students are facing a lot of difficulties opting out.
“Students who morally oppose these sex change procedures can still be forced to, in effect, subsidize these procedures,” Elizondo says.
Critics argue that complex waiver processes make it hard for students to opt out, effectively forcing families with moral or religious objections to bankroll procedures they oppose.
Elizondo says universities are keeping these benefits quiet.
“Universities aren't putting their sex change procedures in bold, like on their pamphlets that they're giving out to families. They're handing that out at the LGBTQ centers... but they don't want parents to know this type of stuff, especially in places where they might have a lot of families with Christian or more conservative backgrounds,” Elizondo says.
So far, Pace has not released its policy for the 2026-2027 school year, but last year's plan also included abortion services.
Other schools that are forcing student health plans with abortion services or gender-affirming care are Westminster College, Florida State University, and Duke University.
