The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an Aug. 11 final rule that prohibits the use of federal Medicaid dollars to fund gender-affirming care, referred to in the rule as “sex rejecting procedures” (SRPs), for children under 18 and for Children’s Health Insurance Program beneficiaries under the age of 19. The rule defines SRPs as “any pharmaceutical or surgical intervention that attempts to align an individual’s physical appearance or body with an asserted identity that differs from the individual’s sex.” For Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries actively receiving hormone therapy, federal funding will be available for a “tapering off period” of up to six months from the effective date of the final rule, Oct. 13. The rule does not affect coverage of mental health services.
The AAMC submitted comments on the proposed rule earlier this year, raising concerns that it would threaten access to care and undermine the physician-patient relationship [refer to Washington Highlights, Feb. 20].