Statement from CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz on Letter to State Medicaid Agencies

As a doctor and now CMS Administrator, my top priority is protecting children and upholding the law. Medicaid dollars are not to be used for gender reassignment surgeries or hormone treatments in minors - procedures that can cause permanent, irreversible harm, including sterilization. We have a duty to ensure medical care is lawful, necessary, and truly in the best interest of patients. CMS will not support services that violate this standard or place vulnerable children at risk. It is a CMS responsibility to steward Medicaid dollars and ensure resources focus on protecting our most vulnerable.

Other advanced nations are rethinking these types of interventions - which in the U.S. can cost up to $134,000^[1]according to recent research. Like them, we believe psychotherapy, not life-altering drugs, or surgery, should be the first line of treatment. This isn't about politics or stigma. It's about protecting people from decisions they may not fully understand, and consequences they can't undo.

Read the letter CMS sent to state Medicaid agencies here: https://www.cms.gov/files/document/letter-stm.pdf

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