RFK looks to cut children’s access to gender-affirming care, calling it ‘malpractice’

In a significant move, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced on Thursday proposals to severely restrict access to gender-affirming care for children.

These new rules would prohibit hospitals providing such treatments from participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs, and also prevent Medicaid and children’s health programs from covering the costs.

“So called gender affirming care has inflicted lasting physical and psychological damage on vulnerable young people,” Kennedy said. “This is not medicine, it is malpractice.”

He also said that HHS will bar Medicare from funding “sex-rejecting procedures” and that gender dysphoria will be removed as a disability status.

Kennedy said he signed a declaration that says “sex-rejecting procedures are neither safe nor effective treatment for children with gender dysphoria.” said he signed a declaration that says “sex-rejecting procedures are neither safe nor effective treatment for children with gender dysphoria.”

Following an earlier executive order from President Donald Trump, which aimed to reverse policies set by Democrats, Kennedy also proposed a rule to remove the disability status of transgender individuals.

Nearly all U.S. hospitals participate in the Medicare program for people aged 65 and older or who have disabilities. More than half of US children receive their health coverage through federal and state-based Medicaid and CHIP programs.

U.S. health data analyzed for Reuters by Komodo Health indicates more than 121,000 children aged 6 to 17 were diagnosed with gender dysphoria between 2017 and 2021, with 17,683 of those starting puberty blockers or hormone therapy.

Both figures are likely undercounts, as many cases are not formally diagnosed or receive treatment outside insurance coverage.

The Trump administration has sought this year to ban transgender people from the military, bar them from designating the sex reflecting their gender identities on passports, and prohibit federal workers from using bathrooms reflecting their gender identity.

Trump seeks to end what he says was the government’s promotion of “gender ideology,” a loose term often used by conservative groups to reference ideologies that promote nontraditional views on sex and gender. Rights activists view the term as an anti-LGBTQ trope and dehumanizing.

Transgender rights have become a contentious political topic in recent years. Several Republicans campaigned to reverse transgender protection laws during the 2024 election and more than two dozen Republican-led states have passed laws banning or restricting gender-affirming care for transgender youth.