Overview

• Advocate Health confirmed it will no longer prescribe gender-affirming care medications to patients younger than 19, notifying patients of the immediate policy change.
• The system spans 69 hospitals in six states, including 11 Illinois hospitals and 200 care sites, and has set up a 24/7 hotline to answer questions and provide counseling support.
• The decision follows a presidential order that threatened loss of Medicare, Medicaid and federal research dollars for institutions providing such care to minors, alongside active Justice Department inquiries.
• The DOJ has issued more than 20 subpoenas to providers; one to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia sought names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and addresses of patients, according to court records.
• Other Chicago-area systems have recently limited or halted services for minors, and Illinois joined 15 states in an Aug. 1 lawsuit challenging the federal campaign.