The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has unveiled a comprehensive proposal that would severely restrict gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth nationwide. Announced on Thursday by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the measures would withdraw critical federal funding from healthcare facilities providing transition-related services to minors, including puberty blockers, hormone therapies, and surgical interventions.
The proposed regulations, which must undergo formal review and public commentary before implementation, would prohibit Medicaid reimbursements for gender-affirming care provided to minors. More significantly, the policy would revoke all Medicare and Medicaid funding from any hospital offering such services—a move that would create substantial financial pressure on medical institutions to cease providing these treatments.
Secretary Kennedy characterized gender-affirming care as ‘malpractice’ grounded in ‘junk science driven by ideological pursuits,’ echoing the conclusions of a departmental report compiled earlier this year by critics of gender transition therapies. The report emphasized potential risks associated with these treatments and recommended psychological counseling prior to medical interventions.
Medical and legal experts have raised alarms about the implications of these proposals. Michael Ulrich, Professor of Public Health and Law at Boston University, warned that the measures place healthcare providers in an ‘extremely precarious position,’ noting that virtually no medical institution could operate without substantial federal funding.
The announcement has triggered strong opposition from medical associations and civil rights organizations. The American Academy of Pediatrics condemned the proposals as ‘harmful,’ stating they ‘help no one, do nothing to address healthcare costs, and unfairly stigmatize a vulnerable population.’ The American Civil Liberties Union pledged legal challenges, calling the measures ‘cruel’ and ‘unconstitutional.’
Medical professionals who provide gender-affirming care emphasized its critical importance. Dr. Zoe Taylor, a family physician in Washington state, described these treatments as ‘life-saving,’ noting that in her practice she has witnessed ‘youth thrive once their gender dysphoria is treated.’
The proposal represents a significant escalation of the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict transgender rights and marks a potentially precedent-setting expansion of federal authority over medical decision-making. Legal experts warn that such intervention could establish dangerous precedents for government control over healthcare practices beyond transgender medicine.