Trump pushes an end to medical care for transgender youth nationally

"NPR has obtained the draft text of a proposed rule that would prohibit federal Medicaid reimbursement for medical care provided to transgender patients younger than age 18. It also prohibits reimbursement through the Children's Health Insurance Program or CHIP for patients under age 19. An additional proposed rule would go even further, blocking all Medicaid and Medicare funding for any services at hospitals that provide pediatric gender-affirming care."

""These rules would be a significant escalation in the Trump administration's attack on access to transgender health care," says Katie Keith, director of the Center for Health Policy and the Law at Georgetown University. "I think it's really, really important to note that nothing is changing immediately," she explains. "These would be proposals that would go out for public comment, it would take months for the Trump administration to issue a final rule, and then, if past is prologue, we would see litigation over whatever the final rules are.""

"The rules are being prepared for public release in early November, according to an employee at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The employee asked that NPR not use their name because they fear professional retribution for speaking to the media without authorization. An HHS spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment about the planned timing of the proposed rules' release."

The Department of Health and Human Services is proposing rules to bar federal Medicaid reimbursement for gender-affirming medical care for patients under age 18 and to bar CHIP reimbursement for patients under age 19. An additional proposed rule would block Medicaid and Medicare funding for any services at hospitals that provide pediatric gender-affirming care. The rules are scheduled for public release in early November and a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services employee requested anonymity over fear of professional retribution. Taken together, the rules could make access to pediatric gender-affirming care extremely difficult nationwide; such care is already banned in 27 states. The proposal would enter a public-comment period, could take months to finalize, and would likely prompt litigation.

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