Two Major Hospitals Pull the Plug on ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ for Minors
On December 18, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. announced new and sweeping regulatory changes that would bring an end to “gender-affirming care” for minors. This includes a ban on puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures for those under 18 years of age.
The reforms mean that hospitals that continue to provide such “gender-affirming care” to children would be stripped of all federal funding as a condition of their participation in Medicare/Medicaid programs.
In his announcement, Kennedy said, “Doctors assume a solemn obligation to protect children. Yet doctors across the country now provide needless and irreversible sex-rejecting procedures that violate their sacred Hippocratic oath, endangering the very lives that they are sworn to safeguard.” . . .
According to 9News, both Children’s Hospital Colorado and Denver Health said they would no longer be writing or filling prescriptions for “gender-affirming care” for minors, including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. Neither facility performed “gender-affirming surgeries” on minors.
🔥 BREAKING: Two Colorado hospitals stop all “gender affirming care” treatments for minors after being threatened by HHS; facing loss of Medicare and Medicaid funding. pic.twitter.com/BCbkCaB9On
— Gays Against Groomers (@againstgrmrs) January 3, 2026
In a statement, Children’s Hospital Colorado said, “Following the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) announcement of an investigation against Children’s Hospital Colorado (Children’s Colorado), the hospital must suspend all medical gender-affirming care for patients under 18 years old. At the same time, we await federal court rulings and assess the rapidly evolving legal landscape. This referral threatens Children’s Colorado’s Medicare and Medicaid funding, risking care for hundreds of thousands of children.” (Read more from “Two Major Hospitals Pull the Plug on ‘Gender-Affirming Care’ for Minors” HERE)
