Move blocking funds through Medicaid and Chip to make it harder for vulnerable children to get healthcare, experts say

The Trump administration finalized a rule on Tuesday to end gender-affirming care through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (Chip), a move that will make it harder for vulnerable children to access healthcare and that eschews evidence to advance an anti-transgender ideology, opponents say.

The rule is set to take effect on 13 October – but legal challenges could delay or block it entirely.

Ending federal funding for children receiving gender-affirming care was first proposed in December, and it received nearly 35,000 comments, about 90% of them opposing the change, said Ma’ayan Anafi, senior counsel for health equity and justice at the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC).