Donald Trump orders restriction of federal funds for gender-affirming treatments for minors
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, has announced a forceful measure that marks a significant shift in the country’s public health policies. The federal administration will prohibit the use of funds from Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to finance gender-affirming surgeries and hormonal treatments for minors.
U.S. taxpayers will no longer pay for sex-change surgeries or hormones for children.
Donald Trump, President of the United States
To implement this provision, the president has issued direct instructions to the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Mehmet Oz, with the goal of definitively ending federal financial support for these medical procedures.
Details and scope of the regulations
Despite this restriction, the administration has clarified that mental health service coverage for minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria will remain intact and will continue to receive financial support from the State.
The new regulation also establishes a grace period for those patients who are currently undergoing hormonal treatment. In accordance with the stipulations, coverage with Central Administration funds for these specific cases may be extended until April 2027.
- Gender-affirming surgeries in minors are infrequent procedures in the current healthcare system.
- Hormonal treatments and puberty blockers have more widespread use, covering conditions that transcend gender dysphoria.
- The measure reinforces the current administration’s agenda, initiated in January 2025, to limit transition care for the non-adult population.
This decision adds to a series of executive actions undertaken by the White House, which had previously sought to condition hospital access to federal funds if they maintained the provision of such treatments. As a result of these pressures, various medical centers across the country have chosen to suspend or limit the provision of these specialized services since Trump’s return to power.
