Rady Children's in San Diego drops gender-affirming procedures, prescriptions

Paul Sisson, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Jan 20, 2026

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Amid the threat to lose all federal reimbursement for the services that it provides to its young patients, Rady Children’s Hospital confirmed Tuesday that it has stopped offering gender-affirming “medical interventions, procedures and prescriptions,” though it will “continue providing supportive care, including counseling, mental health resources and care coordination.”

In a statement, the region’s only medical center dedicated to serving children and adolescents said it was “recently referred to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General for investigation.”

The move is the latest in a wave of pull-backs from children’s hospitals nationwide that started with an executive order issued by President Donald Trump on Jan. 28, 2025, titled “Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation,” that sought to restrict various types of gender-affirming care. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services followed on Dec. 19, 2025, with two proposed new rules that would prohibit Medicare and Medicaid certified hospitals “from performing sex-rejecting procedures on children,” and would also prohibit state Medicaid programs — including Medi-Cal in California — from paying for such care.

“Taken together, these developments affect our role and responsibilities as a provider participating in federal programs such as Medicaid and Medicare, which are essential to caring for children and families in our communities,” Rady said in a statement.

The hospital made it clear that this was not a decision that it wanted to make.

“This was a very difficult decision, made to ensure we can continue serving all children and families across the communities we serve,” Rady said.

Local families with trans youth age 18 and younger currently receiving gender-affirming care from Rady reported receiving notifications of the changes on Tuesday. TransFamily Support Services, a San Diego-based nonprofit that offers a broad range of assistance from support groups to health insurance coverage navigation, immediately announced that its members will not remain silent. The group said it plans to hold a peaceful protest and press conference at Rady on Saturday.

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