By order of President Donald Trump, the United States’ public health care will no longer fund surgeries and hormone treatments for transgender children and adolescents. It will also stop funding many other medical treatments according to Mehmet Oz, the head of the public health programs Medicare and Medicaid. The treatment of mental health problems is exempt. The new rules are said to take effect on October 13, per the administration’s statement.
Medicaid, created to help people with lower incomes, and Medicare, which serves seniors and people with disabilities, differ in purpose as well. Billing for services under these programs accounts for a substantial portion of income for many clinics. America does not have universal health coverage like Germany.
The U.S. government shares Medicaid costs with the states. State funds are not affected by the new regulation, but many Republican-led states had already sharply restricted such treatments. How many children and adolescents will be affected by the new rule is hard to quantify for that reason as well. U.S. media outlets expect relatively few cases.
Trump and his Republicans have long used transphobia for their political purposes, not only in campaigns. And even this time the U.S. president appealed to voters via Truth Social: “Please remember this when you cast your ballots in November’s midterm elections.” Democrats had argued that children were too young to vote, but apparently old enough to “hack off their genitalia,” Trump sneered. “We will protect America’s children.”
Marcy Ellerton
