FIRST ON FOX: American taxpayers will no longer be on the hook for child sex-change hormones or surgeries, as a key Trump administration agency announced Tuesday that Medicaid will stop funding such procedures and therapies.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz tells Fox News Digital that the decision to implement a rule pulling the funding is "consistent with [the Trump administration's] commitment to protect children from experimental and life-altering sex-rejecting procedures that carry serious long-term health risks and lack sufficiently reliable evidence of clinical benefit."
CMS, an agency within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), says taxpayer-funded Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) will also cease coverage of sex-change hormones and surgeries.
The rule will not affect mental health treatments for gender dysmorphia and other conditions, which will continue to be covered under Medicaid and CHIP.
The move comes after years of what conservatives called 'woke' policies that opened avenues for federal funding of therapies and procedures to allow children to physically — and oftentimes permanently — transition from their biological sex before they could legally drive, get a tattoo or enlist in the U.S. Military.
"Children deserve our protection, not experimental interventions that pose serious risks and convey no proven benefits," Oz said. "By cutting off federal funds for these sex-rejecting procedures, we’re following the science, saving taxpayer dollars, and, most importantly, protecting children from potentially irreversible harm so they can truly flourish."
Specifically, the "sex-rejecting" treatments that will no longer be covered include cross-sex hormones, puberty blockers and sex-change surgical operations.
CMS and HHS say such procedures "can result in irreversible damage, including infertility, impaired sexual function, diminished bone density, altered brain development, and other lasting physiological effects."
HHS, under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., reviewed national and international research on sex-change procedures in minors, which ultimately informed CMS' decision to reverse federal taxpayer-funded procedures.
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"Today, we are ending federal taxpayer funding for sex-rejecting procedures on children," Secretary Kennedy said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "These interventions carry serious risks and can cause irreversible harm. The federal government will no longer use Medicaid and CHIP dollars to fund procedures that fail to meet the evidentiary standard our children deserve."
That research "identified significant evidence gaps" and "documented serious safety concerns," eventually leading to the conclusion that taxpayer funding for such procedures could not be justified comparative to the risks.
Specifically, CMS pointed to the United Kingdom's Cass Review as one of the cornerstone pieces of research informing the decision.
That review, conducted by Dr. Hilary Cass, concluded in 2024 that research on medical interventions like cross-sex hormones and puberty blockers was limited and not definitive. The report also said that medical interventions had developed significantly faster than evidence proving those interventions were safe.
"The Trump Administration is drawing a clear line: America’s children will not be subjected to life-altering interventions on the taxpayer’s dime without reliable evidence of safety and clinical benefit," HHS Press Secretary Emily Hilliard told Fox News Digital.
"Under the leadership of Secretary Kennedy, federal health care dollars will support evidence-based care that protects children and puts their long-term health first," she added. "American taxpayers should never be forced to finance interventions when the evidence of benefit is insufficient and the potential consequences for children can be serious and irreversible."
What follows is a tapering-off period where the Medicaid and CHIP funding will slowly phase out and allow children who are currently getting hormone treatments to receive funding for six months from the date the new rule takes effect.
