WASHINGTON, D.C.—The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced it will terminate Medicare and Medicaid to any hospital that performs sex-rejecting procedures on minors, taking action to remove gender dysphoria as a disability, and sending “warning letters” to breast binder manufacturers.
HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr announced a series of proposed regulatory actions directing HHS to end the practice of sex-change—aka sex-rejecting—procedures on children stating that, “the U.S. government will not be in business with organizations that intentionally or unintentionally inflict permanent harm on children.”
“Under my leadership, and answering President Trump’s call to action, the federal government will do everything in its power to stop unsafe, irreversible practices that put our children at risk,” Secretary Kennedy said. “This Administration will protect America’s most vulnerable. Our children deserve better—and we are delivering on that promise.”
Sex-rejecting procedures on children — which include puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical operations — expose them to irreversible damage, including infertility, impaired sexual function, diminished bone density, altered brain development, and other irreversible physiological effects, according to HHS.
“The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will release a notice of proposed rulemaking to bar hospitals from performing sex-rejecting procedures on children under age 18 as a condition of participation in Medicare and Medicaid programs. Nearly all U.S. hospitals participate in Medicare and Medicaid,” the HHS announcement reads.
HHS is making it a condition that in order for hospitals to be reimbursed for Medicare and Medicaid, it must not perform sex change procedures on persons under the age of 18.
“Children deserve our protection, not experimental interventions performed on them, that carry life-altering risks with no reliable evidence of benefit,” said CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “This proposal seeks to clarify that hospitals participating in our programs cannot conduct these unproven procedures on children. CMS will ensure that federal program standards reflect our responsibility to promote the health and safety of children.”
The same prohibition would apply to federal Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding for these procedures on individuals under age 19. Currently, 27 states do not provide Medicaid coverage of sex-rejecting procedures on children.
HHS Secretary Kennedy, Jr. today signed a declaration, based on an HHS peer-reviewed report, finding that these procedures do not meet professionally recognized standards of health care. Under the declaration, practitioners who perform sex-rejecting procedures on minors would be deemed out of compliance with those standards.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is issuing warning letters to 12 manufacturers and retailers for illegal marketing of breast binders to children for the purposes of treating gender dysphoria. Breast binders are Class 1 medical devices used for purposes such as assistance in recovery from cancer-related mastectomy. The warning letters will formally notify the companies of their significant regulatory violations and how they should take prompt corrective action.
HHS is also moving to reverse the Biden administration’s attempt to include gender dysphoria within the definition of a disability.
HHS also published a 14,000-person peer-review study of minors who received sex-rejecting procedures between 2019 and 2023, that current evidence does not support claims by health care providers, families, and policymakers that puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries are safe and effective treatments for pediatric gender dysphoria.
Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown released the following statement to X shortly after Thursday’s announcement by HHS: “The proposed rule targeting healthcare for transgender and gender diverse people is cruel, and unnecessary. Under the law in Washington, necessary healthcare for transgender people is lawful and legally protected. Proposed rules are not the law – nothing has changed in Washington.”
The rules are still proposals by the federal government at this stage, and that nothing has taken effect, Mike Faulk, Deputy Communications Director for the AG’s Office told the Lynnwood Times.
“Youth gender-affirming care in Washington is legal under state and federal law,” he added. “We are following developments closely and will consider our options to defend young people’s access to this life-saving care.”
Author: Mario Lotmore
