Proposed federal rules from the Trump administration could force hospitals in Washington and Oregon to abandon gender-related medical treatments for minors or risk losing billions in federal funding.
The policy, announced this week by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., [photo above] would cut off Medicare and Medicaid dollars to hospitals that continue offering puberty blockers, hormone therapies, or related interventions for minors. The move comes as so-called gender-affirming care has come under heightened scrutiny for providing therapy that can do more harm than good. The United Kingdom previously all-but banned puberty blockers for children.
According to the New York Times, Medicare and Medicaid together account for about 45 percent of hospital spending nationwide, making compliance less a policy choice than a financial necessity. Hospitals in the Pacific Northwest are especially vulnerable since the states promote so-called gender-affirming care for minors, regardless of how it can harm children.
President Trump has made the issue central to his agenda, previously calling gender treatments for minors “a stain on our Nation’s history,” according to the New York Times. Unlike state-level bans, the proposed rule would apply nationwide by leveraging federal funding, even if that funding is not directly used for the treatments.
Former CMS attorney Caroline Farrell told the New York Times the rule would amount to “a death sentence” for hospitals operating on razor-thin margins, adding that it effectively means “just forcing them to stop the care.”
The rule will undergo a 60-day public comment period and is expected to face legal challenges. If finalized, it would also bar Medicaid from paying for the treatments and expand federal scrutiny of products marketed to children for gender dysphoria.
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