HHS Ceases Medicaid, CHIP Funding for Sex-Rejecting Procedures for Kids
The federal government will no longer pay for children to receive sex-rejecting procedures through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced Tuesday.
The final rule, which HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. foreshadowed in December, will take effect on October 13. Federal Medicaid and CHIP won’t cover pediatric sex-rejecting surgeries for or new prescriptions for opposite-sex hormones and puberty blocking drugs.
Minors with existing prescriptions for wrong-sex hormones and puberty blockers on October 13 will receive decreasing Medicaid and CHIP coverage for six months. Federal payments for these treatments will reportedly end in May 2027.
“Children deserve our protection, not experimental interventions that pose serious risks and convey no proven benefits,” Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz wrote in a press release.
“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.”
Secretary Kennedy reiterated, “These interventions carry serious risks and can cause irreversible harm.”
He continued:
Halting Medicaid and CHIP coverage for pediatric “transgender” medical interventions protects children from mutilating medical procedures; prevents federal tax dollars from funding child experimentation; and delegitimizes dangerous pseudoscience — a win, win, win.
It’s a hard-fought victory.
President Trump took the first step toward defunding pediatric, sex-rejecting procedures on January 28, 2025, via his executive order “Protecting Children From Chemical and Surgical Mutilation.”
It declared:
The order specifically directed Secretary Kennedy to “take all appropriate actions to end the chemical and surgical mutilation of children.” It also commissioned HHS’ evidentiary review of “gender-affirming” surgeries, opposite-sex hormones and puberty blockers for children.
HHS released Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria: Review of Evidence and Best Practices in May 2025. The 409-page review found:
On December 18, 2025, shortly after HHS finalized the peer-reviewed Treatment for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria, the secretary signed what became known as the Kennedy Declaration. It reads, in part:
“This declaration is a clear directive to providers to follow the science and the overwhelming body of evidence that these procedures hurt, not help children,” Kennedy said at a press conference.
The declaration accompanied a list of “six decisive actions” HHS planned to take to protect children from these interventions. One was proposing a new rule “to prohibit federal Medicaid funding for sex-rejecting procedures on children under age 18.”
HHS and CMS fulfilled that action this week.
That’s not to say implementing the final rule will be easy. In December 2025, 18 states sued to stop the enforcement of the Kennedy Declaration and its “illegal attempt to supersede the relevant standards of care for transgender health care in Plaintiff states.”
The case, Oregon v. Kennedy, is still playing in court. New suits will likely attempt to force Medicaid and CHIP to continue paying for “gender-affirming” care for minors.
Kennedy wouldn’t be surprised. In December, when a reporter asked him about his opponents tying up HHS initiatives in court, Kennedy responded, “I think that’s going to happen,” joking, “The number of lawsuits with my name on it right now is almost beyond counting.”
But the secretary wasn’t intimidated.
“We know what we’re doing is legal. And if people sue us, they’re welcome to, but we’re going to win the lawsuits.”
The Daily Citizen thanks HHS for continuing to put children first after more than a year and a half of hard fighting to protect minors from damaging gender ideology.
Additional Articles and Resources
HHS Will Block Hospitals From Performing Sex-Rejecting, Mutilating Procedures on Children
18 States Sue HHS for Protecting Children From Sex-Rejecting Procedures
HHS Finalizes Report Finding Sex-Rejecting Procedures Harm Minors
HHS Releases Report on harms of ‘Transgender’ Medical interventions for Minors
President Trump Signs Order Protecting Children From Transgender Medical Interventions
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