WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced on Thursday many regulatory moves aimed at banning gender-affirming care for minors nationwide.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, announced the measures in a press conference. The conference took place at the HHS Headquarters in Washington, DC.
“So-called gender affirming care has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people,” Kennedy urged. “This is not medicine. It is malpractice.”
The proposals aim to cut off Medicaid and Medicare from hospitals that offer gender-affirming care to minors. It also seeks to ban federal Medicaid funding from being used for the procedures.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has opposed the Department’s actions.
“These policies and proposals misconstrue the current medical consensus and fail to reflect the realities of pediatric care and the needs of children and families.” AAP President Dr. Susan J. Kressly urged.
The measures would jeopardize access in almost two dozen states where drug treatments and surgical operations are still legal. The treatments and operations are covered by Medicaid. Currently, 27 states have already banned the care.
The HHS’s proposals are not final or legally binding. They will enter into the Federal Register on Friday. Officials must go through a lengthy rulemaking process. Part of the process involves public comment and document rewrites before the measures become permanent.
Kennedy also announced that the HHS Office of Civil Rights will propose a rule. This rule will remove gender dysphoria from being classified as a disability.
According to the AP News, “Gender dysphoria is a formal medical diagnosis. It describes the distress felt when someone’s gender expression does not match their sex assigned at birth.”
The announcements are a part of a wave of actions. President Donald Trump, his administration, and Republicans in Congress have taken these actions to strip transgender rights across the country.
