Thanks to the Trump administration's threat to remove Medicare and Medicaid funding from hospitals which treat minors for gender dysphoria by offering "gender-affirming care," aka puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgery, this week saw two blue state health systems announce that they would be banning the practice.
This is winning. On Wednesday, Massachusetts' Baystate Health announced it would be ending its program.
Baystate Health is reportedly ending its hormone prescriptions for transgender youth under 18 to protect its Medicaid and Medicare funding.
In a letter to parents and guardians earlier this month, shared with The Boston Globe, the Springfield health care system said it would continue to offer mental health counseling for these adolescents but would stop prescribing gender-affirming hormone medications and puberty-blocking drugs.
According to the letter, the patient’s medications will be transferred to Transhealth or another provider of the patient’s choice.
“This decision offers patients the specialized expertise and continuity of care they need and deserve and reflects the evolving regulatory landscape that threatens hundreds of millions of dollars in hospital Medicaid and Medicare funding,” Baystate said in a separate statement to Boston.com.
And on Tuesday, a major Manhattan provider announced it would be shuttering its program as well.
A major Manhattan hospital, faced with threats of losing federal funding, has closed its prominent medical program for treating transgender youth.
The move by the hospital, NYU Langone Health, comes after the Trump administration in December proposed rules that would pull federal dollars from any hospital that provides gender transition treatments for adolescents, such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy or surgery.
On Tuesday night, a spokesman for NYU Langone issued a statement citing “the current regulatory environment” as among the reasons the hospital had decided to discontinue its program for gender-related care for youth.
“Given the recent departure of our medical director, coupled with the current regulatory environment, we made the difficult decision to discontinue our Transgender Youth Health Program,” according to the statement, which was provided by an NYU Langone spokesman, Steve Ritea.
The dominoes are falling, as more hospital systems recognize that the federal money they rely upon will be cut off. That addresses one aspect of the greed. The other aspect is the fact that 22-year-old Fox Varian, a girl who was transitioned to be a boy at 16 years old, then detransitioned, successfully sued the psychologist and the surgeon who pushed her into being butchered. Fox won the medical malpractice lawsuit, and other detransitioners are waiting in line to do the same.
Many of these hospitals that were at the forefront of offering these so-called affirming services are now staring down the barrel of lawsuits, and bracing to lose money from the litigation and the judgments. Frankly, these rapacious doctors need to lose their careers as well, and that could be the next phase. Which is probably why medical associations like the American Society of Plastic Surgeons is stepping away from their formerly full-throated endorsement and participation in gender reassignment surgeries, as my colleague streiff reported earlier in February.
Dive Deeper: The Dam Breaks - Major Physicians Group Comes Out Against Transgender Surgery for Minors
On Thursday, board-certified plastic surgeon Dr. Ira Savetsky spoke with "Fox & Friends" to react to NYU Langone's decision, as well as to apologize for his role in remaining silent in the face of this butchery.
And as a father of three young children and as a physician who took an oath to "Do No Harm," I failed to speak up. And, I just want to thank President Trump for having moral clarity on this and our society finally came out strongly against this, Savetsky said.
WATCH:
"I failed to speak up and I just want to thank President Trump on having moral clarity on this."
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) February 19, 2026
Dr. Ira Savetsky, a board-certified plastic surgeon, reacts to an NYC hospital finally ending its transgender treatment program for kids pic.twitter.com/sfrrVaZL5F
The medical associations supporting gender-affirming care are becoming fewer, but this is not stopping the politicians from staking their claim on this failed ideology that has ruined the lives and health of a host of young people. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D–WA07) along with Sen. Edward J. Markey (D–MA) are pushing a “Transgender Bill of Rights,” in Congress. The bill would amend the Civil Rights Act to incorporate transgender individuals. It's as stupid as it sounds, and like much of what Jayapal and Markey stand for, has no chance of getting a vote.
Like Jayapal, Manhattan borough president and former state senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal is decrying that NY hospitals have "caved to Trump's threats." Hoylman-Sigal is highly exercised that trans youth will die if they do not receive proper medical care.
I’m extremely disturbed and disappointed by the decision of a number of New York City hospitals to cease providing gender-affirming care to all patients under 19 years old.
— Brad Hoylman-Sigal 🌈🥯 (@bradhoylman) February 18, 2026
This decision, prompted by the Trump administration’s threat to withhold Medicaid funding at the…
I’m extremely disturbed and disappointed by the decision of a number of New York City hospitals to cease providing gender-affirming care to all patients under 19 years old.
This decision, prompted by the Trump administration’s threat to withhold Medicaid funding at the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., will jeopardize the lives and well-being of their patients.
Studies have shown that ending gender-affirming care after it has begun without patient consent can carry significant physical and mental health risks. For these young patients, gender-affirming care is life-affirming care.
Read More: 'This Cruelty Must Stop': Pramila Jayapal's 'Trans Bill of Rights' Is As Ridiculous As You'd Expect
HHS Puts WA Children's Hospital in the Crosshairs for Its Refusal to Stop Trans-Care to Minors
So much so that he wrote a letter to New York State Health Services commissioner demanding hospitals not be allowed to discontinue gender-affirming care for minors, declaring that lives will be at risk.
The letter reads, in part:
If these hospitals do not reverse their decisions and other healthcare providers follow, lives will be put at risk. Therefore, it is imperative that all providers be made aware of their legal obligation to provide any New Yorker with life-preserving gender affirming care, including those under 19. While it is our sincere hope that all New York hospitals and healthcare providers will prioritize the safety and well-being of their patients — especially during this period of uncertainty — we need clear directives from the NYSDOH to help ensure they do so.
Please advise us what steps NYSDOH is taking to address this pressing matter (including by sharing any guidance that NYSDOH has provided to hospitals) at your earliest possible convenience.
At this point, probably nothing, but NYSDOH will no doubt string Hoylman-Sigal and others along. Essentially, their hands are tied. New York City, in the hands of its Democrat Socialist mayor, is already experiencing the reality of trying to get blood from a turnip. Ultimately, it is up to the hospitals, and faced with the decision between no money or no program, it is clear which they will choose.
There is also the public relations aspect. With the latest transgender killer from Rhode Island trending in the news, and more medical organizations backing away, the reputation of these formerly august health centers is taking a significant hit. So, their boards will vote to save face along with preserving their capability to collect federal money.
Greed wins, and in this case, it's a good thing.
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