The federal agency that oversees Medicare and Medicaid has told states not to use Medicaid funding to pay for gender-affirming care for minors.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the newly confirmed administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said the federal agency will stop paying for gender reassignment operations or hormone treatments for those under 18.
In a a statement, Oz said his “top priority is protecting children” and upholding the law.
“Medicaid dollars are not to be used for gender reassignment surgeries or hormone treatments in minors – procedures that can cause permanent, irreversible harm, including sterilization,” Oz said.
The federal agency must ensure medical care is “lawful, necessary, and truly in the best interest of patients,” Oz said. “CMS will not support services that violate this standard or place vulnerable children at risk.”
On April 11, CMS sent a letter to state Medicaid directors informing them of the agency’s decision. The letter, signed by Deputy Administrator Drew Snyder, said states are obligated to ensure care is delivered in “a manner consistent with the best interest of beneficiaries.”
Oz was confirmed by the Senate on April 3 to oversee the federal agency in a largely, party-line vote. Before his confirmation, Sen. Josh Hawley questioned Oz, a former television host, about segments he had aired that seemed to support transgender care and abortion rights.
In a social media post, Hawley, a Missouri Republican, said he decided to back Oz’s nomination after Oz switched his stance on those issues.
Gender-affirming care rare most common among young adults
A 2023 study in the medical journal JAMA Network Open found gender-affirming surgeries were most popular with young adults.
More than 25,000 people ages 19 to 30 received these procedures from 2016 through 2019. Fewer than 8% of patients − a total of 3,678 − were 12- to 18-year-olds. Lawmakers, mainly in conservative states, are pursuing restrictions against these procedures.
About 1 in 4 people who underwent gender-affirming care were covered by Medicaid, the study found.
Shortly after taking office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order stating the U.S. would not “fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support” gender-affirming care.
The executive order states doctors are “maiming and sterilizing” children and using “chemical and surgical mutilation” tools. Several U.S. professional medical organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, have supported gender-affirming care policies.
State laws targeting transgender people made trans and nonbinary people aged 13 to 24 more likely to attempt suicide in the past year, according to a survey conducted by the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ youth suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization.
In his statement, Oz said gender-affirming care can cost up to $134,000 and he said other nations are “rethinking these types of interventions.”
“Like them, we believe psychotherapy, not life-altering drugs, or surgery, should be the first line of treatment,” Oz said. “This isn’t about politics or stigma. It’s about protecting people from decisions they may not fully understand, and consequences they can’t undo.”
Adrianna Rodriguez contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Oz declares Medicaid won’t pay for gender affirming care
The post Medicaid won’t pay for gender-affirming care appeared first on USA TODAY.
