House Passes Bill to Block Medicaid Funding for Gender-Related Treatments for Minors Amid Partisan Divide
The House of Representatives passed the Do No Harm in Medicaid Act by a vote of 215-201. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), would prohibit Medicaid reimbursement for specified gender-related surgeries for minors and hormone therapies. It would also potentially block federal funding to states that allow such treatments for minors.
Exceptions in the bill include puberty blockers prescribed for precocious puberty and gender-related surgeries performed to treat injury, illness, or to prevent death. House Energy & Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) stated that the bill would save approximately $445 million over ten years for Medicaid.
The vote revealed a partisan divide: all Republicans who voted supported the measure, while most Democrats opposed it. However, four Democrats—Henry Cuellar (TX), Vicente Gonzalez (TX), Don Davis (NC), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA)—voted in favor. Democrats criticized the bill as an attack on medically necessary care, noting that care for transgender youth is comparable to that for non-transgender youth.
The measure highlights ongoing tensions within the Democratic Party regarding transgender issues and Medicaid policy. This development was reported on December 18, 2025.
