Twenty-two states file suit to overturn federal ban on Medicaid gender-affirming care for youth

A group of 22 states has brought a 60-page lawsuit in a Massachusetts federal court challenging a recent HHS final rule that prohibits Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program from paying for puberty-delaying medication, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries for transgender youth. The plaintiffs contend that the rule was issued without congressional authorization, violates the states’ traditional authority to determine Medicaid coverage, and creates unlawful barriers for low-income patients who depend on federal funding.

They also argue the rule is arbitrary, noting that more than 90% of public comments opposed the proposal, yet the administration implemented it on Aug. 13. The complaint targets HHS, its secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and CMS administrator Mehmet Oz. New York Attorney General James warned that the rule threatens both patient access and state Medicaid administration. The coalition, which includes California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and the District of Columbia, says the policy represents an unlawful executive overreach aimed at a vulnerable population.