UChicago Medicine (UCMed) announced Friday that it is discontinuing all gender-affirming pediatric care as the Trump administration threatens to withhold federal funding from hospitals that offer it.
In light of “emerging federal actions,” continuing to provide gender-affirming care for minors would jeopardize UCMed’s ability to care for the Medicare and Medicaid recipients that make up the majority of its patients, the hospital wrote in a notice posted to its website.
“As the largest Medicaid provider in Illinois, this step is necessary to ensure UChicago Medicine can continue serving our broader community and delivering on our mission,” the notice read. “Our focus right now is working with affected patients to discuss options going forward.”
In recent months, federal officials have reportedly been reviewing whether Medicaid coverage can be fully eliminated at hospitals that offer gender-affirming pediatric care in the wake of a January executive order issued by President Donald Trump, according to the Wall Street Journal.
That order directed agencies to take steps to prevent medical institutions receiving federal grants from providing gender-affirming care to children under 19. In fiscal year 2024, UCMed received $276 million from the National Institutes of Health.
UCMed offers gender-affirming hormone therapy, surgery, and psychiatric services through its Trans Clinic for Affirmation and Reproductive Equity (Trans CARE).
The clinic, which launched in May 2021, connects transgender patients with “trans-friendly” doctors who are familiar with their specific needs, according to a 2021 press release.
UCMed declined to answer specific questions about the number of minors Trans CARE had been treating and the types of care the clinic would continue to offer, directing the Maroon to the statement on its website.
In recent months, other Chicago-area medical centers have also announced they are pausing or ending gender-affirming care for new patients.
Lurie Children’s Hospital, Chicago’s largest pediatric care provider, said in February that it was pausing surgeries for patients under 19 but would continue to provide hormone therapy and mental health services for those patients. More than half of its patients receive Medicaid, according to its website.
Rush University Medical Center similarly said on Tuesday that it will only continue therapeutic gender-affirming care for patients who would be harmed if their treatments ceased.
The use of the treatments—which Trump’s order called “chemical and surgical mutilation of children”—and whether they should be widely accessible have been continued subjects of debate, both in the U.S. and internationally.
The American Academy of Pediatrics maintains support for access to such care for minors and has expressed growing concern at attempts to restrict its availability.
In February, attorneys general in 15 states—including Illinois—released a joint statement vowing to protect gender-affirming care in their states, saying they would enforce relevant state laws and mount legal challenges to federal efforts at withholding funding from hospitals that offer it.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul argued in a news release about the statement that the Illinois Human Rights Act’s prohibition on discrimination according to gender identity guarantees access to gender-affirming care.
On July 9, the Department of Justice said in a press release that it had sent subpoenas to more than 20 doctors and clinics that offered care for transgender minors, indicating that it was investigating “healthcare fraud, false statements, and more.”
