US President Donald Trump has announced that federal Medicaid funding will no longer cover gender transition surgeries and hormone therapies for minors, as his administration moves to restrict federal funding for gender transition-related medical care for children and young people.

The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding will no longer cover puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and gender transition surgeries for minors. The new rule will take effect on October 13, while mental health services will remain covered.

Trump Announces Medicaid Funding Cut

Trump announced the policy on Tuesday in a post on his Truth Social platform, saying the decision had been taken at his direction by Dr Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

“Today, at my direction, Dr. Mehmet Oz announced that Medicaid will NO LONGER fund gender transition surgeries and hormones for minors. We are not going to pay for our innocent children to undergo these barbaric surgeries and practices, which result in unthinkable and irreversible harm to their young bodies,” Trump said.

Trump also claimed that pressure from his administration had already prompted dozens of US hospitals to stop providing what he described as “gender-affirming care” to minors.

“Thanks to our strong position and pressure on this issue over the past year and a half, dozens of U.S. hospitals have already ended this so-called ‘gender-affirming care,’ and we expect many more to follow,” he said.

Trump also criticised the Democratic Party over its position on gender transition-related care for minors and urged voters to consider the issue during the November midterm elections.

HHS Ends Federal Funding for Procedures

The HHS announced that federal Medicaid and CHIP funding would no longer cover gender transition procedures for children and young people under a final rule implemented through CMS.

According to the Anadolu News Agency, the rule applies to puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and gender transition surgeries for minors.

HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr said the policy was intended to stop taxpayer funding for procedures that he said carried serious risks and could result in irreversible harm.

The administration has characterised the changes as part of a broader effort to alter federal policy on medical treatment related to gender transition for minors.

CMS Cites Child Protection

CMS Administrator Dr Mehmet Oz said the policy was intended to protect children from what he described as experimental medical interventions.

“By cutting off federal funds for these sex-rejecting procedures, we’re following the science, saving taxpayer dollars, and, most importantly, protecting children from potentially irreversible harm so they can truly flourish,” Oz said, according to the Anadolu News Agency.

The administration said the rule would affect federal funding rather than prohibit every form of gender transition-related care for minors.

Mental health services will not be affected by the new rule, while children who are already receiving hormone therapy will continue to receive federal funding for up to six months, according to the report.

Rule To Take Effect in October

The final rule will come into effect on October 13, after which federal Medicaid and CHIP funds will no longer cover the specified gender transition procedures for minors.

The decision marks another significant policy change by the Trump administration concerning healthcare for transgender minors and follows the administration’s broader push to restrict federally funded gender transition-related care for children.

Trump said the policy was aimed at protecting children, while his administration has maintained that federal taxpayer funds should not be used for the treatments covered by the new rule.

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