Trump's HHS abandons threat to withhold Medicare and Medicaid funding over trans care
Source: NPR
July 13, 2026 4:22 PM ET
The Trump administration is abandoning its most aggressive attempt to end gender-affirming care for youth nationally, according to an official document obtained by NPR.
The document shows that the Department of Health and Human Services will not be finalizing a proposed rule that would have blocked all Medicaid and Medicare funding for hospitals that provide pediatric gender-affirming care.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told NPR in a statement: "CMS does not comment on future rulemaking or speculate on potential actions. The Trump Administration rejects ideologically driven surgical interventions on vulnerable children."
(Surgery is very rare among transgender people under age 18, and the rule applied to all gender-affirming care, which is mainly therapy and medications for children.)
Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/07/13/nx-s1-5888586/transgender-gender-affirming-care-medicare-medicaid-hhs
Link to referenced proposed RULE - https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/12/19/2025-23465/medicare-and-medicaid-programs-hospital-condition-of-participation-prohibiting-sex-rejecting