Story perspectives

HHS Reverses Funding Cut Rule for Gender-Affirming Care to Minors

7/15/2026

Summary

Story summary

HHS withdrew the rule that would have cut Medicare and Medicaid funding to hospitals offering gender-affirming care to minors.
More than 30,000 comments, including nearly 20,000 from Human Rights Campaign supporters, prompted the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and Children’s Hospital Association to call the rule a misuse of safety standards.
Advocates warn hospitals that stopped care suffered damage and should resume services where state law permits.

History

Historical Context

The 2016 HHS Section 1557 rule extended ACA nondiscrimination to roughly 1.5 million transgender Americans, a protection later undone by the Trump administration, which in 2017 withdrew bathroom guidance and in 2019 a court vacated the rule. Today HHS has also withdrawn a separate rule that would have cut Medicare and Medicaid payments to hospitals providing gender-affirming care to minors, echoing those earlier rollbacks.

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Story summary

HHS withdrew the rule that would have cut Medicare and Medicaid funding to hospitals offering gender-affirming care to minors.
More than 30,000 comments, including nearly 20,000 from Human Rights Campaign supporters, prompted the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics and Children’s Hospital Association to call the rule a misuse of safety standards.
Advocates warn hospitals that stopped care suffered damage and should resume services where state law permits.

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