19 States Sue to Stop Kennedy's Medicaid Gender-Blockade Caper
KEY POINTS
- â˘On December 18, 2025, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a halt to Medicare and Medicaid payments for providers treating transgender minors.
- â˘Oregon AG Dan Rayfield led a lawsuit joined by 19 states and D.C. challenging the legality of Kennedyâs directive, citing federal law violations.
- â˘The Department of Health and Human Services cites a January 2025 Trump executive order as the basis for the policy, despite major medical groups endorsing gender-affirming care.
In a dazzling collective performance rivaling a political group project nightmare, Oregon AG Dan Rayfield led 19 states plus D.C. in suing HHS boss Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over his December 18th mic-drop banning Medicare and Medicaid payments for providing gender-affirming care to minors. Kennedyâs heroic claim? Fighting 'unsafe, irreversible practices'âbasically calling gender care a medical unicorn that threatens kiddo wellbeing, per a Trump January executive order encore. Meanwhile, top docs like the American Medical Association rated this care 'medically necessary' and possibly 'lifesaving,' which is awkward for Kennedyâs cautionary tale. Pennsylvaniaâs Josh Shapiro and a bipartisan circus joined for whatâs arguably the most dramatic healthcare shutdown plan since the time your Wi-Fi dropped mid-pandemic.
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Trying to ban gender care by yanking Medicare funding? Thatâs like cancelling pizza delivery because someone sneezed once. Spoiler: The states arenât having it, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is currently the lead in this tragicomedy.
Nothing screams 'competent leadership' like 19 states suing your department for overreaching in healthcare policyâplot twist: Kennedy's team didn't read the manual.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to stop kids from getting care by blocking federal paymentsâbecause nothing says health like weaponizing bureaucracy against science.
Source: Axios | Published: 12/25/2025 | Author: Rebecca Falconer
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