AAP Opposes New HHS Rules Restricting Access to Care for Families

By: Susan J. Kressly, MD, FAAP, President

“Unprecedented actions and harmful rhetoric taking place today  by  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) leaders mark a concerning departure from the longstanding principle that health care policy should be grounded in scientific evidence, clinical expertise, and the needs of children and families. These policies and proposals misconstrue the current medical consensus and fail to reflect the realities of pediatric care and the needs of children and families.   

“Specifically, HHS issued new proposed rules that create uncertainty for all patients and place new barriers on those seeking treatment, by banning federal funds for health care provided to transgender young people and only allowing hospitals to participate in Medicare and Medicaid if they do not provide care to transgender young people. Allowing the government to determine which patient groups deserve care sets a dangerous precedent, and children and families will bear the consequences.

“These rules are a baseless intrusion into the patient-physician relationship. Patients, their families, and their physicians—not politicians or government officials —should be the ones to make decisions together about what care is best for them. The government’s actions today make that task harder, if not impossible, for families of gender-diverse and transgender youth.  

“At a time when families across the country are facing rising costs and other health challenges, our leading government health care agency opts to introduce regulations that focus disproportionate attention on denying care to a small population of adolescents. These rules help no one, do nothing to address health care costs, and unfairly stigmatize a population of young people.

“The American Academy of Pediatrics remains committed to ensuring that all children — including gender-diverse youth and children covered by Medicaid — receive care that is backed by science, delivered with compassion, and offered without political interference. We call on HHS to immediately reverse course and rescind these harmful proposals.”

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.