Overview

• Kaiser Permanente confirmed that all surgeries for patients under 19 will be paused starting August 29, 2025, while hormone treatments and other gender-affirming care remain available.
• The nonprofit health system cited executive orders, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services inquiries and Department of Justice subpoenas from the Trump administration as the key drivers of its decision.
• Nurses represented by the California Nurses Association have condemned the pause as government overreach that undermines evidence-based medical judgment.
• LGBTQ advocates and state Sen. Scott Wiener warned that the suspension could breach California’s anti-discrimination statutes and pledged legal action to protect trans youth.
• Kaiser’s move follows similar rollbacks by Stanford Medicine, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and other major centers that have scaled back transgender youth services under federal pressure.