Trump's HHS backs off most radical effort to stop healthcare for trans youth : NPR

Key Points:

• The Trump administration is abandoning its most aggressive proposed rule that would have blocked all Medicaid and Medicare funding for hospitals providing pediatric gender-affirming care, according to a document obtained by NPR.
• The proposed rule was unprecedented and faced legal challenges, as experts noted it violated the Medicare Act by attempting to control medical practice at the state level, which states regulate.
• Major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association and the Children's Hospital Association, opposed the rule, affirming that gender-affirming treatments like puberty blockers and hormones are safe and effective for transgender youth.
• Despite this setback for the administration, other anti-transgender measures remain in place or are advancing, including a Medicaid rule expected to take effect soon and ongoing legal and administrative actions targeting transgender healthcare providers and patients.
• Experts suggest the decision not to finalize the rule could encourage hospitals to resume or continue gender-affirming care for youth, but caution that the administration’s broader goal of restricting transgender healthcare persists.