The Trump administration is set to announce measures that would effectively restrict so-called “gender-affirming care” for minors. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will lead the announcement at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) headquarters on Thursday at 11:00 AM, alongside Dr. Mehmet Oz, Dr. Marty Makary, and Dr. Jay Bhattacharya.
The proposed rules would prevent doctors and hospitals from receiving federal Medicaid reimbursements for providing transgender surgical procedures and hormone treatments to patients under 18. Additionally, hospitals offering pediatric “gender-affirming care” would be ineligible for Medicaid and Medicare funding. These programs are critical to the financial operations of nearly all hospitals in the United States.
The announcement follows legislative action in the House of Representatives, where Republicans passed a health care package on Wednesday that included a bill by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) barring transgender procedures for minors with penalties of up to 10 years in prison. Another bill by Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) seeks to prohibit Medicaid reimbursement for such care and is scheduled for a vote on Thursday.
Currently, 27 states have already banned gender transition procedures for minors. The administration’s proposed rules will undergo a public comment period before being finalized.
