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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a policy change Thursday that would end federal support for gender-transition medical interventions for minors, marking a significant health care action by the administration of Donald Trump.
The policy addresses the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures involving minors. Administration officials said the decision is based on their assessment that such treatments do not meet accepted standards of care, reports noted.
Kennedy Jr. signed a peer-reviewed declaration stating that medical procedures intended to alter a minor’s sex characteristics are not safe or effective, according to the department. Under the policy, health care providers who perform such interventions on patients under 18 could be considered noncompliant with federal patient-safety requirements, potentially subjecting hospitals and practitioners to enforcement actions.
As part of the initiative, the Department of Health and Human Services said it has directed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services [CMS] to begin rulemaking that would prohibit hospitals offering these procedures from participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs.
Nearly all U.S. hospitals receive federal reimbursement, meaning the proposal could significantly limit access to such procedures nationwide. Kennedy also criticized major medical organizations for backing the treatments, saying their support was driven by ideology rather than medical evidence.
“Today, we are taking six decisive actions guided by gold standard science and the week one executive order from President Trump to protect children from chemical and surgical mutilation,” RFK Jr. said during a press conference Thursday afternoon.
“This is not medicine. It is malpractice,” he added, going on to accuse the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics of abandoning evidence-based care, thereby failing vulnerable children.
“On my watch, HHS will stand for radical transparency and informed consent,” said Kennedy. “We follow the evidence. We employ gold standard science. We honor the moral obligation to do no harm. There is divine worth in every person. It shines most brightly in our children that was commanded us to protect them.”
Kennedy cited a report, released by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, which found that medical interventions intended to alter a child’s biological sex—including the use of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures—carry effects that are “significant, long term, and too often ignored or inadequately tracked.”
The November report updated a May HHS report that examined available evidence and best practices related to the treatment of children with gender dysphoria. Several medical organizations criticized the earlier report, citing the lack of identified authors and alleging it mischaracterized the medical consensus on the issue, Fox News reported.
CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz widely condemned gender-altering procedures on children in an op-ed published by the Washington Post this week.
Oz stated that comprehensive reviews have concluded the evidence for the treatment’s benefits is “remarkably weak,” while the risks are too “substantial.”
“America’s children aren’t lab mice,” Oz wrote. “They deserve quality care backed by sound evidence and should not be conscripted as test subjects in risky experiments that cause irreversible harm.”
He criticized medical professionals who have either overlooked these findings or dismissed objections as “bigotry.” Oz mentioned that clinicians aiming to affirm a child’s “true identity” often neglect less invasive treatments and overlook broader psychological issues.
“Proponents of the current approach demand that we ‘believe trans kids’ and insist that blockers, hormones and surgeries are the most effective way to save gender-confused children from suicide,” Oz wrote. “If they’re wrong — as studies increasingly suggest — then ‘gender-affirming care’ for kids will have earned its place in the medical malfeasance hall of shame, right next to lobotomies.”
“These proposed rules aren’t about scoring political points. They’re about grounding our health policy in science — and protecting our kids,” Oz concluded.
