Florida’s surgeon general came out this week against certain gender dysphoria treatments for children, and now, Medicaid coverage for some of those treatments are being reassessed in the state.

State Surgeon General Dr. Joseph Ladapo wrote a letter this week to the Florida Board of Medicine claiming that several studies found treatments like sex reassignment surgery, and hormone and puberty blockers are not proven to be effective treatments for gender dysphoria. 

However, LGBTQ activists are staunchly against Ladapo's stance. Among them is Franky Dalog Jr., a transgender man who lives in Orlando.

He says he can’t help but smile when he see’s photos of himself now.

“It gives me so much gender euphoria,” said Dalog, who added that he’s now living the life he only dreamed of as a child. 

“It gives me a lot of joy to see I can do these normal things that I wasn’t able to do when I was younger because I was always bottled up," he said. "I was binding my body."

Dalog was born female, but said he knew early on that his biological gender did not match how he felt as an individual. 

“I was bullied in school because people were like, 'Do you go to the boys or girls’ bathroom?' And, like, when I would be in gym they would be like, 'Oh, you shouldn’t be in this locker room,'" he said.

As an early teen, he transitioned socially, and then at 18 he started medical treatment by taking hormones. At 26, he underwent chest surgery.

But this week, the state surgeon general wrote a letter to the Florida Board of medicine recommending against certain pharmaceutical, non-pharmaceutical and surgical treatments for gender dysphoria in children. 

While Dalog’s treatment would not have been affected by Ladapo's recommendations, it still leaves him feeling concerned. 

“I felt so much anger and I felt disgusted and sickened,” he said.

In his letter, the Florida surgeon general argued that despite the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Endocrine society recommending gender-affirming care, there is weak scientific evidence for it and there is a risk of long-term harm.

Equality Florida responded to the argument in a statement, saying, “Gov. DeSantis’ agencies have misrepresented findings and distorted data to advance a political agenda, rather than relying on good science."

But Ladapo accuses them of being the ones playing politics. 

“The current standards set by many professional organizations appear to follow a preferred political ideology instead of the highest level of accepted medical science,” he wrote in his letter.

Dalog though, believes the issue is about quality of life.

Spectrum News 13 reached out to the State Department of Health asking for specifics on what treatments fall under the categories they’ve listed and what age groups would be affected. State representatives did not immediately respond to the inquiry.

Back in April, Florida Department of Health officials said that social gender transition should not be a treatment option for children or adolescents, and anyone under 18 should not be prescribed puberty blockers or hormone therapy.

State officials also said that gender reassignment surgery should not be a treatment option for children or adolescents.

State guidance claims that encouraging surgeries like mastectomies or ovariectomies, and hormone treatments run at unacceptably high risk of doing harm.

The state instead encourages social support from friends and family, and professional counseling.