On 11 August 2026 HHS, through CMS, issued a final rule ending the use of federal Medicaid and CHIP funds to pay for what HHS calls “sex-rejecting procedures” on children and youth — puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical operations.
Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.: “Today, we are ending federal taxpayer funding for sex-rejecting procedures on children. These interventions carry serious risks and can cause irreversible harm. The federal government will no longer use Medicaid and CHIP dollars to fund procedures that fail to meet the evidentiary standard our children deserve.”
CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz: “Children deserve our protection, not experimental interventions that pose serious risks and convey no proven benefits.”
CMS first published this as proposed rule CMS-2451-P on 19 December 2025. The final rule is scheduled to take effect 13 October 2026. Children already on hormone therapy may have a tapering-off period of up to six months. Mental health coverage is not cut. This action applies only to federal Medicaid and CHIP funding.
HHS says the decision follows its own review of the evidence, the Cass Review in the United Kingdom, and countries that have already restricted these procedures.
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- united states