A conservative organization is urging the Trump administration to close a loophole that allows blue states to fund sex-rejecting procedures for minors.
While commending the Department of Health & Human Services’ decision to bar hospitals that offer gender transitions to children from participating in Medicare and Medicaid, the conservative group Defend Forgotten America warns this alone “does not end the radical Biden HHS policies that funnel taxpayer dollars to these procedures.”
“For example, Washington State continues to operate a Medicaid program that allows, and receives federal reimbursement for, so-called ‘gender-affirming care,’ including surgeries and hormone treatments,” Defend Forgotten America Founder Jenn Pellegrino wrote in a Jan. 7 letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. “Now that the federal government rightly recognized that sex-rejecting procedures fail to meet professionally recognized standards of care for children and that taxpayer dollars should not support them, it’s time to also ensure that no state is permitted to exploit loopholes approved by the Biden administration.”
Washington’s policy was approved in 2024 by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Director of the Financial Management Group Rory Howe.
The organization recommended that the Trump administration revoke approval for Washington state Medicaid to fund gender transitions, initiate a “comprehensive review of all state Medicaid plans,” and publicly report how much federal funding has been spent on treatments in states like Washington.
DFA HHS Letter by Katelynn Richardson
“These actions are necessary to ensure consistent application of federal law, to protect vulnerable children, and to uphold HHS’s fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers,” the letter continues. “Closing the Washington State loophole and conducting a nationwide review would complete the job and reaffirm that HHS is committed to protecting children, safeguarding taxpayers, and applying the law fairly across all 50 states.”
HHS spokesman Andrew Nixon told the DCNF the agency “has already taken decisive action by issuing proposed rules to prohibit federal Medicaid funding for sex-rejecting procedures for minors and to bar hospitals that perform such procedures on children.”
“In addition, CMS has formally notified providers and state agencies of the serious medical concerns and the intent to align federal health programs with the highest-quality evidence to protect children,” he said. “We do not comment on potential future actions or pending litigation, but HHS will continue to act consistent with law, evidence, and our responsibility to safeguard children.”
Along with announcing proposed rules restricting Medicaid dollars from funding sex-rejecting procedures for minors, Kennedy signed a declaration in December stating that “sex-rejecting procedures are neither safe nor effective treatment for children.”
“This is not medicine,” he said during a Dec. 18 press conference. “It is malpractice.”
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