The Trump administration has proposed two new rules that would effectively ban gender-affirming care for all transgender youth, even in states where such care is legal. Here’s what you can do to try and stop them.
The Rules
The two proposed rules were announced yesterday at a press conference by U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz. One rule would bar doctors and hospitals from receiving Medicaid reimbursements for gender-affirming care provided to transgender youth under 18 years old, and from receiving funds from the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) for such care for trans youth under 19 years old. Gender-affirming care (which the proposed rule refers to by an offensive term that I’m not going to repeat here) is defined as puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgery.
The second proposed rule goes even further, however, and would stop any Medicaid and Medicare funds from going to hospitals that provide gender-affirming care, even if those funds are used for other purposes. Because almost every hospital in the country relies on Medicare funds, as NPR explains, “the rule would have a wide-ranging effect.”
There would be no exceptions for trans patients currently receiving care. Non-trans patients, however, would still be allowed to receive such care for “a medically verifiable disorder of sexual development,” or “a physical disorder, injury, or physical illness.”
Journalist Erin Reed at Erin in the Morning asserts, “This rule appears to violate multiple U.S. statutes and constitutional limits on federal authority,” and I direct you to her explanation of why, if you want the legal details. The ACLU has already vowed to challenge the administration in court.
Both rules are open for public comment for 60 days, starting today, before they are finalized. They are not yet in effect.
Take Action
Many major LGBTQ organizations are encouraging people—families, advocates, allies, medical professionals, and others—to submit comments opposing the proposed rules. You can easily do so at that link, which leads to a form that HRC has set up.
If you’re interested in the evidence that supports access to gender-affirming care for trans youth, check out HRC’s factsheet. Listen to the personal stories from parents of trans kids, like Vanessa Ford and Jamie Bruesehoff, about what access to gender-affirming care has meant for the improved well-being of their children. (And let’s be clear: No one is saying that all trans youth should automatically receive gender-affirming care or any particular type of care, just that they should have the option to access it, if that is what the considered advice of their medical providers and parents/guardians indicates is best for them.) Consider whether the government should be dictating blanket decisions on medical care (care supported by every major medical association) rather than leaving it up to a child’s doctors and parents/guardians, and what kind of precedent that might set for medical care of any kind.
And in Congress
Separately, the U.S. House of Representatives yesterday voted 215-201 to passed HR 498, a bill that would, like the first rule above, halt Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care for transgender youth. It also passed HR 3492, which would make it a felony to provide gender-affirming healthcare. Both bills now go to the Senate. Contact your senators today and tell them to vote against these bills.