WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) – U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. moved on Thursday to cut access to gender-affirming care for children, proposing rules that would bar hospitals that deliver such care from Medicare and Medicaid programs and also bar Medicaid and children’s health programs from paying for it.
Kennedy, following on the back of an earlier executive order from President Donald Trump that sought to reverse policies set by Democrats, also proposed a rule that would remove the disability status of people who are transgender.
Nearly all U.S. hospitals participate in the Medicare program for people aged 65 and older or who have disabilities. More than half of U.S. children receive their health coverage through the U.S. federal and state-based Medicaid and CHIP programs.
(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein and Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Franklin Paul)
