Breaking: Trump Administration plans to cut Medicaid funds for hospitals doing transgender procedures on kids

The Trump administration has proposed new federal rules that would cut off all Medicare and Medicaid funding for hospitals and medical practitioners that perform gender transition medical treatments on minors.

The proposal, issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Dec. 18, 2025, would bar hospitals from participating in federal health programs if they provide what the administration describes as “sex-rejecting procedures” or “sex trait modifications” for patients under the age of 18.

The rules were announced under the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., with CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz overseeing the regulatory changes.

Under the first proposed rule, hospitals and medical facilities would be required, as a condition of participation in Medicare and Medicaid, to certify that they do not perform puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or gender-related surgeries on minors. Any hospital that continues to offer such treatments to patients under 18 would lose all Medicare and Medicaid funding—not only reimbursement for gender-related care.

Medicare and Medicaid account for roughly 45% of total hospital spending nationwide. The rule would likely force most hospitals to stop offering gender transition treatments to minors altogether.

The second proposed rule is to prohibit Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program from directly reimbursing gender transition medical procedures for individuals under age 18, or in some instances under age 19, depending on program eligibility definitions.

The administration says the change is a child-protection measure, arguing that irreversible medical interventions should not be federally subsidized for minors. Officials described the procedures as experimental and said the federal government should not fund what it views as permanent alterations to a child’s healthy body.

The proposals build on earlier Trump administration actions, including executive orders and prior CMS guidance aimed at limiting federal involvement in gender transition medical care for minors. They also follow Republican-led legislation introduced in the US House that would criminalize certain aspects of the care and block Medicaid payments, although those bills are unlikely to advance in the Senate.

The CMS rules must undergo a 60-day public comment period before potential adoption and are likely to face immediate legal challenges from hospitals, medical associations, and activist groups that support gender transition treatments for minors.

The announcement from CMS is at this link.