Trump is targeting their daughters’ medical care. Four New Hampshire families are taking his HHS to court

For three years, Medicaid has covered the puberty-blocking medication prescribed to Logan Loe, a 15-year-old transgender girl in New Hampshire. Without coverage, her family would face a bill of roughly $70,000 a year. That’s more than their annual household income, according to a new federal lawsuit.

Now, the Trump administration is preparing to withdraw federal funding for that care.

Logan’s family and three others sued Thursday in federal court in New Hampshire, seeking to protect their daughters’ treatment before nationwide restrictions on Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program funding take effect October 13. The lawsuit identifies the children and their parents by pseudonyms to protect their privacy.

Related: New Hampshire Republican governor signs gender-affirming care ban into law

“If this rule goes into effect, I don’t know what options we will have to pay for our daughter’s continuing care,” plaintiff Karla Koe said in a statement. “Kylie’s father and I are worried sick about what will happen to her.”

Represented by GLAD Law, the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, the ACLU of New Hampshire, and Robinson & Cole, the families seek immediate protection for the girls’ medications and an order setting aside the rule.

Chris Erchull, a senior staff attorney at GLAD Law, explained the stakes. “These families made medical decisions with their doctors, based on careful assessment of their children’s individual medical needs,” Erchull said in a statement. “We’re asking the court to act quickly so these families don’t lose the medical care that has enabled their kids to thrive.”

A deadline families cannot afford

The complaint describes four girls whose doctors have prescribed or anticipate recommending treatment for gender dysphoria.

Logan has received puberty blockers since age 12. Maya Moe, also 15, receives puberty blockers and estrogen; replacing her medication implant would cost more than her mother’s annual salary. Kylie Koe, 13, has reached the stage when her endocrinologist recommends puberty blockers. Grace Goe, 11, is approaching puberty.

Related: New Hampshire House advances transgender bathroom bill, breaking with New England

The rule cuts federal funding for specified gender-affirming treatments for Medicaid patients younger than 18 and CHIP patients younger than 19. It allows up to six months of funding to taper existing hormone therapy, but no comparable extension for puberty blockers.

“It was designed for cost sharing, but not to weaponize very specific types of care,” former Biden administration health official Adrian Shanker previously told The Advocate about Medicaid.

“The rule falls hardest on families who are struggling to get by in this difficult economy,” Rachel Berg, a senior staff attorney at the National Center for LGBTQ Rights, said in a statement. “The Trump administration’s message to families is plain: if you can’t pay out of pocket, your children will go without the medical care they need.”