Trump Admin Releases Final Rule Attacking Healthcare for Low-Income Trans Kids

Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, he's been vowing to stamp out gender-affirming medical care—what his administration terms "sex-rejecting procedures"—for young people diagnosed with gender dysphoria. Now, his administration is specifically going after the health care of trans kids from low-income families. On Tuesday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released a final rule forbidding Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program from paying for puberty blockers and hormone therapy to treat gender dysphoria, as well as the surgeries provided in rare cases to older teens.

The Medicaid part of the rule applies to patients under age 18, while the CHIP provision applies to patients under 19. The rule will take effect in October, with one exception: For patients already on cross-sex hormones, coverage for those medications will continue for an additional six months to allow for a "limited tapering period," according to the final rule.