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Dr. Hehmet Oz (left) and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced new proposals that would effectively block gender-affirming care for trans youth across the country.
The Trump administration announced Thursday a further crackdown on gender-affirming care for trans youth, which would make it almost impossible for hospitals to provide the care to those patients. It also issued a warning for makers of breast binders.
The Department of Health and Human Services announced two proposed measures, including:
“Under my leadership, and answering President Trump’s call to action, the federal government will do everything in its power to stop unsafe, irreversible practices that put our children at risk,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a statement announcing the rules. Kennedy also signed a declaration asserting that gender-affirming care for minors “does not meet professionally recognized standards of health care,” according to HHS.
CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz said the proposals are designed to prevent federal programs from supporting what he described as unproven medical interventions. “Children deserve our protection, not experimental interventions performed on them that carry life-altering risks with no reliable evidence of benefit,” Oz said. “This proposal seeks to clarify that hospitals participating in our programs cannot conduct these unproven procedures on children.”
The public will have 60 days to comment on the proposed rules beginning Friday. If finalized, hospitals that continue providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth could lose Medicare and Medicaid funding — a move that critics say would effectively force many facilities to shut down.
HHS officials also announced that the Food and Drug Administration will issue warning letters to 12 manufacturers and retailers of breast binders, which the agency classifies as Class I medical devices. FDA Commissioner Marty Makary said the agency believes the products are being illegally marketed to children for the treatment of gender dysphoria.
“Illegal marketing of these products for children is alarming,” Makary said. “The FDA will take further enforcement action such as import alerts, seizures, and injunctions if it continues.”
Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brian Christine said medical providers should refuse to offer gender-affirming interventions to minors, calling the evidence supporting such care “incredibly weak.” “For the safety of our children, medical professionals should refuse to provide puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical interventions,” Christine said, urging clinicians to prioritize psychosocial support instead.
The proposals drew swift condemnation from LGBTQ+ advocates.
The Human Rights Campaign’s president, Kelley Robinson, condemned the proposals.
“The Trump administration is relentless in denying health care to this country, and especially the transgender community. Families deserve the freedom to go to the doctor and get the care that they need and to have agency over the health and well-being of their children,” Robinson in a press release. “But these proposed actions would put Donald Trump and RFK Jr. in those doctor’s offices, ripping health care decisions from the hands of families and putting it in the grips of the anti-LGBTQ+ fringe. Make no mistake: these rules aim to completely cut off medically necessary care from children no matter where in this country they live. It’s the Trump Administration dictating who gets their prescription filled and who has their next appointment canceled altogether."
Robinson also noted that the announcements were not law.
"Let's be clear, these rules are proposals, not binding law. Community members, healthcare providers, administrators, and our allies should be vocal in pushing back by sharing the ways these proposals would be devastating to their families and the healthcare community at large,” she said.
This is a developing story. Check back here for updates.
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