The Trump administration has finalized a rule that will bar Medicaid from covering pediatric gender treatments for children enrolled in the government’s low-income insurance program.
Details of the New Policy
The new policy prohibits states from using federal Medicaid funds to pay for any pediatric gender treatments for enrollees under 18. This move is the administration’s latest effort to restrict youth access to transgender healthcare.
President Donald Trump celebrated the move in a social media post, stating that it is necessary to prevent ‘barbaric surgeries and practices, which result in unthinkable and irreversible harm to their young bodies.’ Democrats and medical organizations have denounced the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict transgender healthcare procedures as harmful and counterproductive.
The administration’s rule is set to take effect on October 13, and federal funds will remain available for six months to allow for a ‘tapering off’ period for children currently receiving pediatric gender treatments.
Original reporting: KTVZ (Central Oregon) — read the source article.
