The Colorado Health Foundation (CHF or the Foundation) strongly opposes the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) proposed rule to prohibit federal Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding for gender-affirming medical care for children and adolescents. This proposal would deny access to medically necessary, evidence-based care for transgender and gender-diverse youth, disproportionately harm low-income children and families, and place young people at heightened risk of serious physical and mental health harms, including suicidality. In practice, the rule would operate as a de facto national ban on gender-affirming care for Medicaid- and CHIP-enrolled youth by coercing hospitals and health systems to choose between providing appropriate medical care and maintaining eligibility for essential federal funding.
As a nonprofit and nonpartisan private foundation, the Colorado Health Foundation works statewide to advance our mission to improve the health of Coloradans. Through community engagement, grantmaking, research, and private sector investments, our work aims to ensure that everyone in Colorado has what they need to be healthy.