Advocates in the transgender community sent out a blunt warning Tuesday, saying they could lose access to basic health care if President Donald Trump lifts a ban on medical discrimination.

Under federal law, carriers can't discriminate against a trans patient. However, President Trump says employers and hospitals shouldn't have to cover procedures that violate their beliefs.

Connecticut has state discrimination laws. They don't apply to companies that self-insure -- meaning, they pay their own employees' health claims.

"The small, self-funded plans are the fastest growing part of the market,” says Ted Doolittle, the state health care advocate. “That's the plans that are most vulnerable here."

Norwalk's Dr. David Rubin helps patients transition away from their birth gender. He says a lifted ban would “drive the care underground away from the medical world into an unsafe environment. Or people will have to pay out of pocket."

The federal government is taking public comments on the issue through Tuesday, Aug. 13.