Dr. Oz announces Medicaid won't fund gender-affirming care for minors
Dr. Mehmet Oz, CMS Administrator, announces Medicaid will stop funding gender-affirming surgeries and hormone treatments for minors, citing concerns over irreversible harm.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, the newly confirmed administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), announced that Medicaid will no longer cover gender-affirming surgeries or hormone treatments for minors.
This decision follows a previous executive order from the Trump administration and is aimed at protecting vulnerable children, according to Oz.
Dr. Oz's stance on gender-affirming care
In Dr. Oz's statement, he said that his top priority is the protection of children. He believes that Medicaid should not support procedures that could lead to "irreversible harm" in minors.
He said that the federal agency must ensure that medical care is "lawful, necessary, and truly in the best interest of patients."
Implications of CMS's decision and public reaction
The CMS's decision is part of a larger debate over gender-affirming care for minors. While some people argue that minors are way too young to fully comprehend the long term consequences of these treatments; a study in 2023 published by JAMA Network Open revealed that gender-affirming surgeries are far more common among young adults than minors.
Before his confirmation on April 3, Oz was question by several Republican lawmakers, among them Sen. Josh Hawley, about his stances on transgender care and abortion rights; as he had previously aired segments that seem to support it as a TV host.
However, in a post on X, Hawley, a Republican from Missouri, stated that he chose to support Oz's nomination after Oz changed his position on those matters