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US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) announced that Medicaid will no longer fund gender transition surgeries and hormone therapies for minors, saying his administration would protect children from what he termed "barbaric" practices.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the decision was taken at his direction by Dr Mehmet Oz, Administrator of the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "Today, at my direction, Dr. Mehmet Oz announced that Medicaid will NO LONGER fund gender transition surgeries and hormones for minors. We are not going to pay for our innocent children to undergo these barbaric surgeries and practices, which result in unthinkable and irreversible harm to their young bodies," Trump said. He further added, "Thanks to our strong position and pressure on this issue over the past year and a half, dozens of U.S. hospitals have already ended this so-called 'gender-affirming care,' and we expect many more to follow. Just think about all of the young, innocent, and perhaps confused children who will be spared! While the Dumocrat (sic) Party wants your kids to be able to chop off their reproductive organs before they are old enough to vote, President Donald J. Trump (ME!) and the Republican Party say that is ABSURD, and we will protect America's children. Please remember this when you are casting your vote in the Midterm Elections in November. Thank you for your attention to this very important matter!" The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced that federal Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding will no longer cover gender transition procedures for children and young people, Anadolu News Agency reported. According to the report, the final rule, implemented through the Centres for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), will end federal funding for puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and gender transition surgeries for minors. Anadolu News Agency quoted HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr as saying that the move was aimed at ending taxpayer funding for what he described as procedures carrying "serious risks" and the possibility of "irreversible harm". CMS Administrator Dr Mehmet Oz said children should be protected rather than subjected to what he called experimental interventions. "By cutting off federal funds for these sex-rejecting procedures, we're following the science, saving taxpayer dollars, and, most importantly, protecting children from potentially irreversible harm so they can truly flourish," Oz added, Anadolu News Agency reported. Mental health services would not be affected by the rule. Children already receiving hormone therapy will continue to receive federal funding for up to six months, Anadolu News Agency reported. The new rule will come into effect on October 13. (ANI)
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