Overview
- Draft rules would bar hospitals that provide puberty blockers, hormones or surgeries to patients under 18 from participating in Medicare and Medicaid, regardless of who pays for the care.
- Companion proposals would prohibit Medicaid coverage of gender-related care for minors under 18 and block CHIP coverage for those under 19.
- HHS opened a public comment period on the proposals, as Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. labeled such treatments “malpractice” and said the administration expects court challenges.
- Major medical groups and civil-rights organizations criticized the plan, with the American Academy of Pediatrics warning of harm to families and the ACLU pledging to sue.
- Federal officials also announced FDA warning letters to chest-binder sellers and an NIH halt to transition-related research, while some health systems, including Sutter Health, reported curtailing services.