by Donald Eng
HARTFORD, CT — Connecticut is among the leaders of a 22-state coalition suing the Trump administration over its attempt to prohibit states from using federal Medicaid funds for gender-affirming care for low-income minors and some young adults.
In the lawsuit, the coalition argues that since the creation of the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) programs in the 1960s, Congress has always granted states the authority to determine which services would be covered under their Medicaid and CHIP programs, subject only to limits set by statute.
The coalition asserts that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) are now acting without statutory authority or a reasoned basis to second-guess state Medicaid agencies’ reliance on individualized medical necessity and treatment decisions made by healthcare providers. Instead, based solely on CMS’s unilateral decision making, the agencies are categorically excluding medically necessary healthcare services from federal reimbursement only when provided to low-income transgender adolescents.
“Once again, Trump is trying to replace the professional medical advice of doctors and the personal choices of patients with his own MAGA political priorities, and abusing our tax dollars and federal healthcare programs to bully everyone into submission,” said Attorney General William Tong. “His actions are cruel and illegal, and we have sued and already secured multiple federal court orders to stop him, including blocking his threat to withhold Medicare and Medicaid to hospitals and clinics providing gender-affirming care and his efforts to erase gender-affirming care from Affordable Care Act protections.”
Tong said the state would continue to “vigorously prosecute our litigation to ensure Connecticut families and providers may continue to live their lives and do their jobs free from cruel partisan meddling.”
Discover more from InnerCity News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
