Overview
- Children’s Hospital Colorado and Denver Health confirmed they will not write or renew prescriptions for puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones for patients under 18.
- HHS referred Children’s Hospital Colorado—and later Seattle Children’s Hospital—to the inspector general as it advances proposed rules conditioning Medicare and Medicaid participation on ending pediatric gender-affirming treatments.
- The department maintains these interventions are not proven safe or effective for minors, while major medical groups endorse allowing puberty blockers and hormone therapy as options.
- The latest pause follows a similar suspension in early 2025 that was reversed after court injunctions, and the current proposals remain nonfinal with public comments open through February 17.
- Both hospitals will continue behavioral health and supportive services, puberty blockers for precocious puberty remain available, and families can seek care from providers that do not rely on federal funding.