Last reviewed:
Florida organizations offer HIV care, testing, navigation, mental health support, or referrals. The services differ: SPEKTRUM Health in Orlando, SunServe in Broward, Pridelines in Miami, Compass in Palm Beach County, and Metro in Tampa Bay are starting points. Call ahead about the care you need. Florida’s gender-affirming-care restrictions and HIV-program eligibility are different questions, but funding changes can affect integrated services.[6][7][8][9][1]
Where to go — Orlando, Broward, and Miami
Orlando — SPEKTRUM Health. Its current website lists primary care, HIV treatment, and gender-affirming care, and says workflows have changed to comply with Florida law. Ask which services are available now, which clinician provides them, and how medication assistance is assessed. Financial help and document-change support are not guarantees of coverage or legal approval.[6]
Broward — SunServe. Its current services include counseling, support groups, housing assistance, substance-use support, and affirming-care navigation. Ask staff for current HIV-care and hormone-prescriber referrals; a support organization may coordinate access without providing every medical service itself. Use SunServe’s current services directory to start.[7]
Miami — Pridelines. Miami's community center since 1982, now at pridelines.center. Through pharmacy partners it provides HIV testing, STI screening, PrEP and PEP navigation, and primary care, including mobile outreach; Los Guerreros supports people living with HIV, and its mental health hub offers sliding-scale therapy for teens and adults[8]. Confirm current addresses and phone directly — several public listings are out of date.
For a legal name or gender-marker change, ask a qualified legal organization about the current rules for the particular document. A clinician’s letter does not guarantee that a state or federal agency will change it. SPEKTRUM or SunServe may help identify support, but confirm the current service before making plans.[6][7]
Where to go — Palm Beach and Tampa Bay
Palm Beach — Compass, Lake Worth Beach, (561) 533-9699. More than 25 years of medical and non-medical HIV case management, serving over 400 people a year countywide, including help assembling required eligibility documentation; a CAN Community Health HIV clinic operates in the same building, so testing and starting care are steps apart[9].
Tampa Bay — Metro. Now identifying as Metro Healthy Communities (formerly Metro Wellness, then Metro Inclusive Health), it combines HIV care with primary care plus counseling, housing, clothing, and food assistance, runs a Copay It Forward program funding free and reduced-cost care for uninsured and underinsured people[10].
Two separate legal tracks — hold this distinction
Track one is your HIV care. Florida's published Ryan White Part B and patient care eligibility asks whether you are HIV positive, living in Florida, low-income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, and not receiving the same services elsewhere. Being transgender is not an eligibility factor, and neither Florida's criteria nor the federal ones mention gender identity[11].
Track two is gender-affirming care. That is governed by Florida's SB 254 and the related Board of Medicine rules, which are being litigated in Doe v. Ladapo[1]. The two tracks have different rules, different funders, and different court cases.
What to do with that. If a provider tells you Florida law stops them from treating your HIV, that is wrong. Ask which rule they mean, ask for it in writing, and call the Florida HIV/AIDS Hotline at 1-800-352-2437 — with Spanish at 1-800-545-SIDA and Haitian Creole at 1-800-AIDS-101 — to be routed to another enrollment site[11].
Then get backup. Call a legal organization the same week — SunServe points clients to the ACLU of Florida, Equality Florida, and Lambda Legal, and Southern Legal Counsel is counsel in Doe v. Ladapo[7]. And if you want to talk to another trans person first, Trans Lifeline is peer support at 877-565-8860[12].
Where Florida's adult gender-affirming care law stands right now
Status checked September 28, 2026: GLAD Law lists the appeal as pending and the challenged restrictions as in effect. Here is the sequence. Florida was the first state to restrict health care access for transgender adults; on June 11, 2024, US District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled in Doe v. Ladapo that SB 254 and the related rules are unconstitutional and may not be enforced, and on July 12, 2024 he declined to pause his own ruling[1].
On August 26, 2024, a divided Eleventh Circuit panel granted Florida's motion for a stay, which let the laws — including the adult restrictions — be enforced during the appeal; reconsideration was denied October 3, 2024[2]. The Eleventh Circuit heard oral argument on January 15, 2025[3], and the case remains open with no appellate decision on the merits[2].
What that means practically. Whether you can get hormone therapy in Florida, and from whom, depends on your provider's license type and the rules they must follow. Ask directly, before your appointment, who is authorized to prescribe and what documentation they need. Then ask separately about your HIV care — ask how the clinic coordinates the services and which funding rules apply to each[1].
The federal Ryan White grant-terms fight, on top of state law
Florida providers are also working under federal grant conditions that changed in 2025 and 2026. HRSA's HIV/AIDS Bureau told Ryan White awardees in April 2025 that funds are for outpatient medical care, antiretroviral therapy, and support services such as case management and housing assistance, and that “the prohibition on surgeries and inpatient care, irrespective of setting or anesthesia, remains absolute”[4].
HRSA's FY2026 general terms added alignment conditions affecting how recipients may address gender-affirming care, and Lambda Legal filed a federal challenge on June 10, 2026 with the American Academy of HIV Medicine, the HIV Medicine Association, and the International Association of Providers of AIDS Care. The court held a bench trial on September 23, 2026. The case page reviewed on September 28 does not report a final judgment[5].
We found no source showing that any specific Florida Ryan White program formally changed its gender-affirming-care policy, and we will not claim one did. What is documented is the federal terms and the litigation[5] alongside Florida's own restrictions[2]. Ask your own program what it currently funds.
Florida context: keep both care pathways open
Florida is genuinely harder than most states for trans health care right now, and pretending otherwise would not help you. SB 254's restrictions on adults are enforceable while the Eleventh Circuit appeal is pending, with the appeal listed as pending when checked September 28, 2026[2], and Doe v. Ladapo is still open[1]. Do not assume you are excluded from HIV services, or that every service is guaranteed. Florida's HIV patient care and ADAP eligibility still turns on HIV status, living in Florida, and income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level — not gender identity, and the state publishes those requirements with Spanish and Haitian Creole hotline support[11]. Because these rules move month to month, re-check this page's review date against a call to your county health department before you rely on it.
Related questions
Can I still get HIV treatment in Florida as a transgender person?
Yes. Florida's published HIV patient care and ADAP eligibility asks whether you are HIV positive, living in Florida, low-income at or below 400% of the federal poverty level, and not receiving duplicate services. Gender identity is not an eligibility factor. If a provider says otherwise, ask for the reason in writing and call the Florida HIV/AIDS Hotline at 1-800-352-2437.
Is gender-affirming care for adults legal in Florida right now?
Florida's restrictions on gender-affirming care, including those affecting adults, are listed as in effect on GLAD Law’s case page, checked September 28, 2026. A federal judge held them unconstitutional in June 2024, but the Eleventh Circuit stayed that ruling on August 26, 2024, heard argument on January 15, 2025, and has not issued a merits decision. Access depends on your provider's license and the rules they follow.
Which Florida organizations serve transgender people living with HIV?
SPEKTRUM Health in Orlando, SunServe in Wilton Manors, Pridelines in Miami, Compass in Lake Worth Beach, and Metro Healthy Communities in Tampa Bay all publish HIV-related services, with different roles in medical care, navigation, and referrals. Call ahead to confirm current services and whether they are accepting new patients.
Did Florida Ryan White programs change their gender-affirming care policies?
We found no source documenting that any specific Florida Ryan White program formally changed its gender-affirming-care policy, so we do not publish that claim. What is documented is HRSA's April 2025 letter limiting funds to outpatient scope, the FY2026 grant terms, the federal lawsuit filed June 10, 2026, and Florida's own SB 254 restrictions. Ask your program what it currently funds.
Related from RiseUpToHIV
References & Sources
- GLAD Law — Doe v. Ladapo case page. Florida as the first state restricting health care access for transgender adults; Judge Hinkle's June 11, 2024 ruling; July 12, 2024 denial of a stay; appeal pending. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
- Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse — Doe v. Ladapo docket record. Eleventh Circuit stay granted August 26, 2024 (2024 WL 4132455); reconsideration denied October 3, 2024; record last updated April 14, 2026 with no merits decision. ↩ ↩ ↩ ↩
- Southern Legal Counsel — Eleventh Circuit hears Doe v. Ladapo. Oral argument held January 15, 2025; Southern Legal Counsel is counsel for plaintiffs. ↩
- HRSA HIV/AIDS Bureau — Letter to Ryan White awardees (April 2025). Funds directed to outpatient medical care, antiretroviral therapy, and support services; the prohibition on surgeries and inpatient care “remains absolute.” ↩
- Lambda Legal — American Academy of HIV Medicine et al. v. HRSA et al.. Federal funding challenge filed June 10, 2026; bench trial September 23. Check subsequent orders and clinic funding rules; a trial alone does not restore coverage. ↩↩
- SPEKTRUM Health — current services. Primary care, HIV treatment, and gender-affirming care; its website notes changes to workflows under Florida law. Confirm availability and assistance eligibility. ↩↩↩
- SunServe — current services. Counseling, support groups, housing and substance-use support, affirming-care navigation, and referrals. Do not assume all medical services are delivered in-house. ↩↩↩↩
- Pridelines (Miami) — Circles of Care. HIV testing, STI screening, PrEP and PEP navigation and primary care through pharmacy partners; Los Guerreros for people living with HIV; sliding-scale therapy. Current site; confirm addresses directly. ↩ ↩
- Compass LGBTQ+ Community Center (Lake Worth Beach) — HIV Services. Medical and non-medical HIV case management for more than 400 people a year in Palm Beach County, including documentation help; CAN Community Health clinic in the same building. ↩ ↩
- Metro Healthy Communities — current programs. HIV and primary care, community support, and Copay It Forward. Confirm service availability, costs, and assistance criteria. ↩
- Florida Department of Health — HIV/AIDS patient care eligibility information. Core eligibility requirements (HIV positive, living in Florida, at or below 400% FPL, no duplicate services) and the Florida HIV/AIDS Hotline in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole. ↩ ↩ ↩
- Trans Lifeline — peer support, 877-565-8860. Peer support by and for trans and questioning people. Confirm current hours on the site. ↩
Community publications like POZ, Positively Aware, and TheBody inform framing and lived-experience context on RiseUpToHIV. Every clinical, epidemiological, or public-health claim above is anchored to a primary source.