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US hospitals performing child sex trait modification surgeries are under federal scrutiny, as the Trump administration cites long-term harm, financial incentives, and lack of evidence behind the irreversible procedures.

The US federal government has launched a sweeping review of hospitals performing experimental sex trait modification procedures on children, citing serious concerns about long-term harm, lack of clinical evidence, and the misuse of taxpayer funds.

Following President Donald Trump’s executive order in January banning federal support for child sex trait modification, the Centres for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued formal letters to hospitals nationwide last Wednesday, demanding full transparency on procedures such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries designed to alter a child’s natural sex traits.

“These are irreversible, high-risk procedures being conducted on vulnerable children, often at taxpayer expense,” CMS Administrator Dr Mehmet Oz announced in a press release last week. “Hospitals accepting federal funds must meet rigorous quality standards and uphold the highest level of stewardship.”

The initiative follows a comprehensive, 400-page review by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that found serious risks of long-term and irreparable harm from interventions promoted under guidelines like those of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH).

Hospitals Under Scrutiny for Consent, Risk, and Revenue

The CMS initiative demands detailed responses from hospitals within 30 days. Key areas of inquiry include:

• How informed consent is obtained for minors and whether parental involvement is mandatory.
• Plans to revise clinical protocols in light of updated federal evidence reviews.
• Documentation of adverse outcomes, particularly cases involving regret or “de-transition.”
• Full financial disclosure, including billing codes, revenue and profit margins, and projections related to these procedures.

Hospitals performing these procedures on children under 19 and receiving federal reimbursement are expected to comply.

The cost of these surgeries, the CMS notes, ranges from $53,645 to $133,911 per case — significantly higher than the average annual salary of a paediatrician.

In support of the review, US Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy Jr issued a related letter on the same day urging healthcare providers and state medical boards to reconsider reliance on WPATH guidelines.

The HHS report advises against such activist-driven protocols, stating that hormonal and surgical interventions often pose more risks than benefits for minors. It also highlighted concerns with puberty blockers, including the risk of “osteoporosis, mood disorders, seizures, cognitive impairment, and sterility”. Additional risks canvassed in the report include blood clots, cardiovascular problems, and cancers that may develop over the patient’s lifespan.

HHS sent a letter to health care providers, risk managers, and state medical boards urging immediate updates to treatment protocols for minors with gender dysphoria based on HHS’ comprehensive review that found puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries have very weak… pic.twitter.com/tj2mtx3Pq9

— HHS.gov (@HHSGov) May 28, 2025

No Federal Support for Child Sex Trait Modifications

The White House’s pro-family blitz come in the wake of President Trump’s executive order declaring that the US federal government “will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist, or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another.”

The Trump administration has committed to enforcing this order through financial oversight, regulatory audits, and strict quality control. The Trump team’s effort reflects a broader national shift: more than two dozen US states have now enacted laws restricting child sex trait modification procedures.

While proponents of so-called “gender-affirming care” insist these interventions are “life-saving,” federal officials have made the case that such claims are unsupported by long-term data. The American College of Paediatricians and other medical bodies have warned against these procedures, citing substantial risks and a lack of proven benefits for minors.

The CMS and HHS are not calling for blanket bans at the federal level but are instead demanding transparency, accountability, and adherence to evidence-based medical standards.

Though not widely covered in the media, at the 2024 election, many Christians favoured Donald Trump over Kamala Harris due to Trump’s strong pledges to protect children from transgender surgeries.

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.