The health care giant is the latest to suspend such procedures for minors.
Kaiser Permanente says it plans to cease transgender surgeries for patients under 19 years of age, citing a high-risk legal and regulatory environment under the Trump administration.
“As the legal and regulatory environment for gender-affirming care continues to evolve, we must carefully consider the significant risks being created for health systems, clinicians, and patients under the age of 19 seeking this care,” the health care giant told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement.
“After significant deliberation and consultation with internal and external experts including our physicians, we’ve made the difficult decision to pause surgical treatment for patients under the age of 19 in our hospitals and surgical centers.”
Kaiser Permanente says the new policy will take effect on Aug. 29. It will still provide other types of “gender-affirming care.”
Kaiser Permanente is one of the nation’s largest nonprofit health plans. It employs 25,000 physicians, operates 40 hospitals, and serves 12.6 million members.
Federal policy changes under President Donald Trump include an executive order issued in January to restrict transgender procedures for youth.
“Countless children soon regret that they have been mutilated and begin to grasp the horrifying tragedy that they will never be able to conceive children of their own or nurture their children through breastfeeding,” the order stated. “Moreover, these vulnerable youths’ medical bills may rise throughout their lifetimes, as they are often trapped with lifelong medical complications, a losing war with their own bodies, and, tragically, sterilization.”
The Trump administration has also alleged that some doctors and hospitals have engaged in fraud by providing fraudulent codes for transgender operations in order to cover up the procedures and to make sure insurance pays for the surgeries.
The Department of Justice announced on July 9 that it had sent more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and hospitals that performed gender-altering treatments on minors.
Kaiser Permanente has faced lawsuits from former patients who transitioned as minors, and who have since detransitioned. The lawsuits allege that Kaiser Permanente and other hospitals did not factor the minors’ mental health issues at the time they opted for the transgender surgeries. The lawsuits also allege that the hospitals did not disclose to the patients or their parents the potential risks of gender-altering surgeries and treatments.
