Overview

• UChicago Medicine said threats to its ability to care for Medicare and Medicaid patients prompted the immediate halt of gender-affirming pediatric services.
• The decision follows recent pauses or endings of care at Rush University, Lurie Children’s, UI Health and Northwestern Medicine under the same federal funding pressure.
• President Trump’s January executive order threatens to cut research grants and Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements for institutions providing gender-affirming care to minors.
• Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul led a coalition of 14 state attorneys general in promising legal challenges and enforcement of Illinois and Chicago shield laws to protect access.
• The Justice Department has issued more than 20 subpoenas to providers performing transgender procedures on minors even as leading medical associations emphasize the treatments’ mental health benefits for youth.