The Trump administration on Thursday escalated its push to curb transgender medical procedures for minors, announcing new rules that would cut off all federal funding to hospitals that perform such interventions on children.
The move marks a significant step in the administration’s broader effort to halt what officials describe as irreversible and unproven medical practices being carried out on minors.
According to a press release from the Department of Health and Human Services, hospitals that administer puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or gender-related surgeries to minors will be barred from participating in Medicare and Medicaid.
HHS officials said the policy is intended to ensure that federal taxpayer dollars are not used to support institutions that subject children to permanent medical interventions. Under the new regulations, doctors who perform these procedures could also face penalties.
Administration officials framed the decision as a clear line in the sand. The federal government, they said, should not be “in business” with hospitals that provide treatments to minors that carry lasting physical consequences. The funding cutoff represents one of the most direct uses of federal leverage yet in the administration’s effort to reshape national policy around transgender medical care for children.
The new rules follow the release of a sweeping HHS review in May that raised serious concerns about so-called gender-affirming medical treatments for minors.
That 409-page report warned that sex-change surgeries and related medical interventions carry “significant risks” while offering “very weak evidence of benefit.” The review concluded that treatments such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures are associated with irreversible effects, including infertility and impaired physical development.
The report drew on systematic reviews from around the world and found that the medical evidence supporting these interventions for minors is limited and uncertain. HHS officials said the findings underscore the need for caution, particularly when the patients involved are children who may not fully understand the long-term consequences of such treatments.
The review was conducted in response to President Trump’s January 28 executive order titled Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation. That order declared that the federal government would no longer “fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support” gender-affirming care for minors. The administration has repeatedly argued that children deserve protection from medical decisions that could permanently alter their bodies before the science is settled.
In its press release, HHS said the report fills a gap in the existing medical literature by closely examining the evidence behind these interventions. NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya echoed that message, saying the government has a responsibility to prioritize child safety. “The government’s duty is to protect our nation’s children—not expose them to unproven and irreversible medical interventions,” Bhattacharya said.
Supporters of the policy argue that tying federal funding to clear standards sends a strong message to the medical community and reinforces the idea that experimental treatments on minors should not be normalized. The administration’s action places significant pressure on hospitals that rely heavily on Medicare and Medicaid funding, effectively forcing institutions to choose between federal dollars and continuing to offer the procedures.
With the new rules in place, the Trump administration is signaling that its crackdown on transgender medical interventions for minors is far from symbolic. By targeting federal funding streams, officials are aiming to fundamentally reshape how these procedures are treated within the nation’s healthcare system, putting the issue of child protection at the center of the debate.
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