Pediatricians Applaud HHS Ruling

ATLANTA — The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) applauded the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for finalizing a rule ending federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding for sex-rejecting procedures on children and adolescents.

The new policy prohibits federal Medicaid and CHIP funding for specified pharmaceutical and surgical interventions intended to alter a child’s physical characteristics to resemble those of the opposite sex, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries. Mental health services for children struggling with their sex will remain eligible for coverage.

Dr. Michelle Cretella, Co-Chair of the ACPeds Adolescent Health Council released the following statement: “ACPeds applauds CMS and HHS for announcing that Medicaid will no longer pay for sex-rejecting procedures including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and cross-sex surgeries. For over a decade, ACPeds has warned that these procedures can result in irreversible damage to children and adolescents, including infertility, impaired sexual function, diminished bone density, altered brain development, and other lasting harms.”

Dr. Jill Simons, Executive Director of ACPeds added: “Children experiencing distress about their sex deserve compassionate, evidence-based care that addresses underlying psychological and emotional needs rather than placing them on a path toward medical interventions that can cause irreversible harm. Taxpayer-funded health programs created to protect vulnerable children should not finance procedures that can permanently alter healthy bodies and jeopardize a child’s future fertility and sexual function. This action by HHS and CMS represents an important step toward restoring medicine’s fundamental obligation to protect children from harm.”