Trump’s New Medicaid Rule Targets Gender-Affirming Care for Minors

“In order to qualify for this care, a young person has to be experiencing very severe, prolonged distress,” Minter says. “I think maybe some people have the misconception that this care is being provided to kids just who are gender nonconforming or who are just identifying as transgender, but that is not the case.”

The number of people who rely on Medicaid and CHIP for gender-affirming care is not publicly available, but in 2023 the spending from both programs on those services totaled $31 million. 

Trump wrote about the ruling on social media Tuesday, saying that he directed CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz to enact the new restrictions. 

“We are not going to pay for our innocent children to undergo these barbaric surgeries and practices, which result in unthinkable and irreversible harm to their young bodies,” the post said.

Oz said in a press release that the rule will protect children and is “following the science, saving taxpayer dollars, and, most importantly, protecting children from potentially irreversible harm so they can truly flourish.” TIME has reached out to the CMS for additional comment.