# Plain Language Summary: Do No Harm in Medicaid Act

This bill would prevent the federal government from paying for gender transition procedures for anyone under 18 years old through Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income Americans. Right now, some states use Medicaid funds to cover these procedures for minors, and this bill would stop that federal funding. The procedures covered by this ban include surgeries, hormone treatments, and other medical interventions intended to change a young person's physical characteristics related to gender transition.

The bill includes some exceptions for specific medical situations. Federal Medicaid money could still be used for treatments related to disorders of sex development (rare genetic or chromosomal conditions), for treating complications from previous procedures, or for treating other serious medical conditions unrelated to gender transition. Additionally, the bill allows for puberty-blocking drugs used to treat precocious puberty (when puberty starts abnormally early), which is a different medical purpose than gender transition.

The practical effect would be that young people under 18 who rely on Medicaid would lose access to federally-funded gender transition procedures. However, the bill doesn't prevent states from using their own money to cover these procedures if they choose to, and it doesn't affect private insurance or other funding sources. For families with private insurance or other means to pay, this bill wouldn't directly impact their access to these medical services. The bill would primarily affect lower-income families whose children are covered by Medicaid and who live in states that currently provide these services through the program.

Do No Harm in Medicaid Act

Crenshaw, Dan

Do No Harm in Medicaid ActThis bill prohibits federal Medicaid payment for specified gender transition procedures for individuals under the age of 18. The bill defines these procedures to mean those that are intended to change the body of an individual to no longer correspond to the individual's biological sex (male or female), including specified surgeries, implants, and medications (e.g., hormones).The bill excludes procedures that are provided to an individual under the age of 18 with the consent of a parent or legal guardian and that are intended to (1) rectify early puberty, genetic disorders, or chromosomal abnormalities; (2) reverse prior gender transition procedures; or (3) prevent imminent death or impairment of a major bodily function.