Why a Virginia hospital is pausing gender-affirming care for trans minors

Eliza Noe, The Virginian-Pilot on Feb 3, 2025

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NORFOLK, Va. — Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters is suspending hormone therapy and puberty blocker treatments used as gender-affirming care for minors after an executive order was signed by President Donald Trump.

The order halts the use of federal money to support gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth under 19 years old, and if fully implemented, the order would cut off government health insurance including Medicaid and TRICARE for the treatments. According to reporting from The Associated Press, some hospitals have paused some gender-affirming care for people under 19 while they evaluate how it might apply to them.

Parents of transgender children are encouraged to keep their appointments, CHKD said in a statement, in order to monitor their child’s condition and mental health.

“Like our colleagues across the Commonwealth and the nation, we are reviewing all guidance related to the Executive Order, and we will be prepared to adapt rapidly if the situation changes,” the statement reads. “We will also continue to advocate for our patients, for evidence-based care, and for the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationships that guide care determinations as we comply with applicable law.”

Specifically, this affects prescriptions and refills for hormone therapy or puberty blockers for gender-affirmation. If the medications are used for other conditions, they will not be affected. CHKD has never offered surgical treatments for gender-affirming care. A spokesperson for CHKD declined to answer how many patients the decision may affect.

Fewer than 1 in 1,000 U.S. adolescents with commercial insurance received gender-affirming medications during a recent five-year period, according to a study released in January. The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, analyzed a large insurance claims database covering more than 5 million patients. The children were ages 8 to 17, and 926 adolescents with a gender-related diagnosis received puberty blockers and 1,927 received hormones from 2018 through 2022. Researchers found that no patients under age 12 were prescribed hormones.

CHKD is one of several Virginia health institutions to suspend gender-affirming care for young people. VCU Health and Children’s Hospital of Richmond said they have suspended gender-affirming medication and gender-affirming surgical procedures for those under 19 years old.

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