The Trump administration announced Tuesday that it will move forward with a new federal rule ending the use of Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funds for gender-transition medical treatments provided to children and adolescents.
President Donald Trump revealed the policy in a Truth Social post, saying he instructed Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz to halt federal funding for gender-transition hormones and surgeries for minors.
“Today, at my direction, Dr. Mehmet Oz announced that Medicaid will NO LONGER fund gender transition surgeries and hormones for minors,” Trump wrote.
“We are not going to pay for our innocent children to undergo these barbaric surgeries and practices, which result in unthinkable and irreversible harm to their young bodies,” he added.
Trump also said his administration’s efforts over the past year and a half have already prompted numerous hospitals to discontinue what he described as “so-called ‘gender-affirming care'” for minors, adding that he believes additional hospitals will do the same.
“Just think about all of the young, innocent, and perhaps confused children who will be spared!” Trump wrote.
According to CNBC, the regulation is scheduled to take effect on Oct. 13. Under the new rule, federal Medicaid and CHIP dollars could no longer be used to pay for puberty blockers, hormone therapy, or gender-transition surgeries for minors.
Individual states, however, would still have the option of funding such treatments with state money if they choose.
Gender-transition surgeries involving minors remain relatively uncommon.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said the new policy follows a review conducted by the Department of Health and Human Services examining both American and international research on medical gender-transition treatments for children.
According to CMS, that review found “significant evidence gaps, documented serious safety concerns, and concluded that the evidence supporting these interventions for children remains insufficient to justify federal taxpayer funding.”
The administration did not release additional details Tuesday regarding the specific studies or evidence underlying those findings.
Gender-transition care may include mental health counseling as well as medical treatments intended to align a person’s physical characteristics with his or her gender identity.
Some of the medications involved in such treatment, including puberty blockers and hormones, are also prescribed to children for unrelated medical conditions.
The new rule does not change federal coverage for mental health services provided to children.
Several major American medical organizations continue to support access to gender-transition treatment when provided in accordance with established clinical guidelines.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness has said existing research suggests that access to such care can improve mental health outcomes, including for young people, while denying treatment may worsen mental health symptoms and increase the risk of suicide.
The announcement comes as Republican-led states continue advancing restrictions on gender-transition treatments for minors. According to health policy research organization KFF, 27 states have enacted laws limiting such care for children.
Trump also framed the policy as a key issue ahead of November’s midterm elections, drawing a sharp contrast between Republicans and Democrats.
“While the Dumocrat Party wants your kids to be able to chop off their reproductive organs before they are old enough to vote, President Donald J. Trump (ME!) and the Republican Party say that is ABSURD, and we will protect America’s children,” Trump wrote.
“Please remember this when you are casting your vote in the Midterm Elections in November,” he said.
{Matzav.com}