Trump administration halted gender drugs
Washington (dpa) — The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Thursday that it intends to significantly reduce access to gender-altering drugs and surgery for children and adolescents.
The department was carrying out a decree from US President Donald Trump “directing HHS to end the practice of sex-rejecting procedures on children that expose young people to irreversible harm.”
“These procedures include pharmaceutical or surgical interventions of specified types that attempt to align a child’s physical appearance or body with an asserted identity different from their sex,” a statement from the department said.
Hospitals, for instance, will no longer be allowed to offer such procedures for minors if they participate in the state health insurance programmes Medicaid and Medicare and wish to generally bill services through them, a statement from the department said.
Trump administration halted gender drugs
While Medicaid was created for individuals on lower incomes, Medicare is dedicated to seniors and people with disabilities.
Billing services through these programmes constitutes a significant portion of many hospitals’ revenues. Additionally, in the future, the federal share of Medicaid may no longer be used to fund hormones for gender alignment and gender-altering surgeries.
Shortly after the start of his second term, Trump had already taken action against gender adjustments for minors by decree.
“[I]t is the policy of the United States that it will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures,” the decree from January 28 states.
©2025 dpa GmbH. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
