Trump announces Medicaid, American taxpayers will no longer fund sex-reassignment surgeries or hormone treatments for minors

President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that Medicaid will stop funding controversial sex-reassignment surgeries and hormone treatments for minors, in a decision that will also affect the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The measure was previously confirmed by Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), and later by the president himself.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump called these procedures "barbaric" and asserted that his administration will not allow taxpayers to pay for procedures that cause "unthinkable and irreversible" harm to minors' bodies.

"Today, at my direction, Dr. Mehmet Oz announced that Medicaid will NO LONGER fund gender transition surgeries and hormones for minors. We are not going to pay for our innocent children to undergo these barbaric surgeries and practices, which result in unthinkable and irreversible harm to their young bodies," the president announced. "Thanks to our strong position and pressure on this issue over the past year and a half, dozens of U.S. hospitals have already ended this so-called gender-affirming care and we expect many more to follow. Just think about all of the young, innocent, and perhaps confused children who will be spared!"

Finally, the president urged voters to keep this issue in mind during the midterms: "While the Dumocrat Party wants your kids to be able to chop off their reproductive organs before they are old enough to vote, President Donald J. Trump (ME!) and the Republican Party say that is ABSURD, and we will protect America’s children. Please remember this when you are casting your vote in the Midterm Elections in November. Thank you for your attention to this very important matter!"

Prior to Trump's announcement, Dr. Oz told Fox News Digital that the regulation's primary goal is to protect minors from procedures lacking solid scientific evidence of clinical benefit. Among the treatments that will no longer be covered by Medicaid are cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers, and sex reassignment surgeries.

However, the CMS administrator clarified that the new rule will not affect coverage for mental health treatments related to gender dysphoria, which will continue to be funded by Medicaid and CHIP. This stance aligns with the call by many conservative experts who have urged support for minors experiencing gender dysphoria at a time when many countries openly permit gender transitions and hormonal treatments, even for children.

CMS, an agency under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), noted that these procedures can lead to infertility, decreased bone density, and alterations in brain development, among other permanent effects. HHS, under the leadership of Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reviewed national and international studies before endorsing the decision, including the UK's Cass review, which concluded in 2024 that the evidence regarding these interventions was limited and inconclusive.

Secretary Kennedy also defended the measure, stating that the federal government will no longer fund procedures that do not meet standards of reliable evidence. Similarly, HHS press secretary Emily Hilliard stated that the Trump administration is drawing a clear line against interventions that alter the lives of minors without safety guarantees.

Despite the announcement, the transition to the new policy will not be immediate. According to CMS, there will be a phase-out period during which minors currently receiving hormone therapy will be able to continue receiving funding for six months after the rule takes effect.