Trump Dropped the Medicare Trans Care Funding Ban
The Trump administration has withdrawn its attempt to strip Medicare and Medicaid funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to transgender youth. The proposed rule would have forced hospitals to choose between federal funding they depend on to operate and continuing to provide trans care.
More than 30,000 public comments were submitted opposing the rule, including formal objections from major medical associations. The administration did not offer a public explanation for the withdrawal, but the volume of opposition from both the medical community and the public made the rule difficult to finalize.
30,000+ public comments opposing the Medicare/Medicaid trans care funding rule, contributing to its withdrawal
The administration has not ruled out pursuing this approach again after one year. This is a pause, not a permanent policy change.
House Republicans Added 4 Anti-LGBTQ Provisions to the State Department Bill
While the Medicare rule stalled, House Republicans moved to attach four separate anti-LGBTQ provisions to the State Department’s funding bill. One provision bans Pride flags from flying at any State Department facility. A second eliminates nondiscrimination protections for federal contractors. Two more ban funding for any organization that acknowledges transgender people exist or advocates for nondiscrimination protections.
These provisions are attached to a must-pass appropriations bill, a tactic Republicans have used repeatedly to advance policies that would not survive a standalone vote. The Senate may remove some or all of the provisions before the bill passes, but that is not guaranteed.
House Republicans Clashed With Medical Experts Over Reproductive Biology
During a House hearing on DEI, Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) and Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) pressed medical school administrators on the term “pregnant people.” When told that many transgender men can and do become pregnant, both representatives called that fact “ridiculous” and “insane.”
Medical reality has not changed. Transgender men who retain reproductive organs can become pregnant. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists uses inclusive language precisely to ensure these patients receive appropriate care.
What You Can Do Now
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Call your senators at (202) 224-3121 and tell them to strip the four anti-LGBTQ provisions from the State Department funding bill before it reaches a floor vote. Name the provisions specifically: the Pride flag ban, the federal contractor nondiscrimination rollback, and the two funding bans targeting pro-trans organizations.
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Contact your House representative at (202) 225-3121 and ask them to vote against the State Department funding bill unless those four provisions are removed. Find your rep at house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative.
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Submit a public comment if the Medicare trans care rule is re-proposed. The withdrawal is temporary. Monitor the CMS rulemaking portal at regulations.gov and search “gender-affirming care” to catch any new proposed rule early. The last round of comments demonstrably worked.
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Contact your state attorney general and ask whether your state plans to challenge any future federal rule tying hospital Medicare funding to restrictions on gender-affirming care. Find your AG at naag.org/find-my-ag.
Sources
LGBTQ Nation: Trump Backs Off Trans Care Attack While House GOP Freaks Out Over Pregnant Trans Men KFF: Overview of Medicaid and Medicare Hospital Funding Dependence Brennan Center: How Appropriations Riders Are Used to Advance Policy Without Debate
[Quote: “We’re not making little goodie bags, we’re really thinking out what it is people need the most.
It’s a labor of love.”, Jeffrey Newman, community organizer, 2020 interview. LGBTQ Nation]