Trump’s New Medicaid Rule Targets Gender-Affirming Care for Minors

The rule put forth by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) bars Medicaid from paying for what it calls “sex-rejecting procedures for children under 18.” Also restricted is funding from Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a state and federal program that provides low-cost coverage to families that make too much money to qualify for Medicaid."The federal government will no longer use Medicaid and CHIP dollars to fund procedures that fail to meet the evidentiary standard our children deserve," Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a press statement about the rule. Under the new rule, which goes into effect Oct. 13, states can still fund certain treatments—including hormone therapies, puberty blockers, and some surgical procedures—but federal dollars will be restricted. Mental health services for transgender youths will still be funded through Medicaid.The cuts will heavily impact the low-income families who rely on Medicaid to access certain treatments that they believe to be necessary for a young person’s well-being.“There will be legal challenges to this rule,” Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for LGBTQ Rights...