MassEquality Responds to CMS Rules to Restrict Funding for Gender Affirming Care

Boston, MA – MassEquality strongly condemns the Trump administration’s latest attack on transgender people: a finalized federal rule that will prevent states from using federal Medicaid and CHIP dollars to pay for certain gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth. The rule’s reach also extends beyond minors as commonly understood: it applies to CHIP recipients under age 19, meaning that some young adults who have reached the age of majority could also lose federal coverage for gender-affirming care. That should concern all of us.. We must reject this dangerous slippery slope before politicians can turn a targeted attack on one population into a broader effort to deny transgender people the healthcare they need.
The rule, which is scheduled to take effect October 13, 2026, targets some of the most vulnerable young people in the country and threatens to put medically necessary care out of reach for families who depend on Medicaid and CHIP. The policy does not ban gender-affirming care itself but instead threatens the federal funding that helps families access it.
The rule’s own distinctions expose the political nature of the policy. The medications at the center of this attack remain available when prescribed for other medical conditions, including precocious puberty, growth hormone deficiency, and certain intersex conditions. The medications are not suddenly unsafe because a transgender person needs them.
“If these medications are appropriate and safe enough to treat other patients, then the problem is not the medication,” said Tanya Neslusan, Executive Director of MassEquality. “This is bigotry masquerading as healthcare policy. This is not about protecting children. It is about targeting transgender people and putting politicians between patients, parents, and their doctors.”
Massachusetts is still a place where transgender people can get care. MassEquality wants transgender people and their families in Massachusetts to know: You are not alone and gender-affirming healthcare has not been banned in Massachusetts. Massachusetts law continues to protect access to gender-affirming care for young people, and the Massachusetts Attorney General has explicitly reaffirmed those protections.
“Massachusetts is a beacon for transgender people because our state has chosen to protect access to healthcare, not politicize it,” Neslusan said. “But we cannot assume that protection will take care of itself. We need continued investment, strong state leadership, and advocates willing to fight every attempt to push transgender people out of our healthcare system.”
MassEquality will continue working with transgender people, families, healthcare providers, legislators, and community partners across the Commonwealth to defend access to gender-affirming care and ensure that Massachusetts remains a safe place for transgender and nonbinary people to live, work, raise families, and receive the healthcare they need.