Trump Administration Formally Blocks Trans Care For People Under 19 On Federal Plans

LOADING ERROR LOADING The largest employer health benefits program for the federal government announced Friday that it will no longer cover pediatric transition-related treatment, according to a document obtained by HuffPost. The directive from the U.S. Office of Personnel and Management’s Healthcare and Insurance program comes just days after President Donald Trump signed executive orders directing federally run insurance programs to exclude coverage for gender-affirming care for people under age 19, and defining sex as only either “male or female.” The executive order on “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation” has a specific provision directing OPM to update its benefits program to “exclude coverage for pediatric transgender surgeries or hormone treatments” in its guidance to insurance carriers. Previous Federal Employee Health Benefits programs ― including the current plan, which is active through 2025 ― did include coverage for pediatric gender-affirming care. “OPM recognizes that there are some bona fide medical conditions, such as precocious puberty, or therapy subsequent to a traumatic injury, where hormone treatments for individuals under the age of 19 may be lawfully covered by Carriers.” Gender-affirming care is already difficult for young people to access, and more than half of U.S. states have already enacted bans on such care.