Trump rule cuts Medicaid funds for trans youth care nationwide
What's next: States can keep covering the care only if they replace the lost federal Medicaid and CHIP money.
The Trump administration finalized a rule barring federal Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program funds from paying for gender-affirming care for people under 18. The change applies nationwide and could force states to decide whether to use their own money to preserve coverage for affected families. Health policy experts told NPR the move is unusually broad because it blocks federal funding for a specific diagnosis and patient group. KFF estimates about 130,000 transgender people under 18 live in states where this care remains available. The rule had been proposed in December. Mehmet Oz, who leads the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, promoted the policy in a social media video.