The Trump administration announced on August 11 that federal Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding will no longer cover gender-affirming care for minors, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender-affirming surgeries [1, 2, 3, 4]. The ban takes effect on October 13, 2026 [1, 2, 3].
Federal funding will still cover mental health services, but will exclude medical treatments described as "sex-rejecting procedures" by Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who called them "experimental and life-altering" with "serious long-term health risks" and potential "irreversible harm" [2, 3]. Kennedy said, "Today, we are ending federal taxpayer funding for sex-rejecting procedures on children. These interventions carry serious risks and can cause irreversible harm" [3].
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said the rule aims to protect children from "potentially irreversible harm" while following the science and saving taxpayer money. He stated, "Children deserve our protection, not experimental interventions that pose serious risks and convey no proven benefits" [3]. Oz added that cutting federal funds will allow children to "truly flourish" [3].
President Donald Trump supported the policy on his social platform Truth Social, calling the procedures "barbaric surgeries" that cause "unthinkable and irreversible harm" to children [1, 2, 4]. He urged voters to remember the policy change in the November midterm elections, saying, "Please remember this when you are casting your vote in the Midterm Elections in November" [1].
Although federal dollars will no longer fund these treatments, states may still use their own funds to cover gender-affirming care for minors [1]. According to the health policy organization KFF, 27 states have enacted restrictions on gender-affirming care for children [1].
The federal decision followed HHS and CMS review of national and international research, which officials said revealed significant evidence gaps and serious safety concerns about gender-affirming treatments for minors [1, 3].
The ban officially goes into effect on October 13, 2026, after which federal Medicaid and CHIP funds will no longer pay for puberty blockers, hormones, or surgeries for minors, though mental health services will remain covered [1, 2, 3].
