WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Dan Crenshaw (TX-02), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, and Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (GA-14), introduced H.R. 498, the Do No Harm in Medicaid Act, groundbreaking legislation aimed at prohibiting federal Medicaid funds from being used for gender transition procedures for minors. This targeted effort aligns with the House Republican budget reconciliation process and represents an essential step in safeguarding children from irreversible medical interventions while ensuring fiscal responsibility.
The Do No Harm in Medicaid Act amends the Social Security Act to include gender transition procedures for minors as a prohibited service under Medicaid. These procedures, which include surgeries, hormone therapies, and puberty blockers intended to alter a minor’s biological sex, are explicitly excluded from federal funding under this legislation. The bill also preserves funding for medically necessary treatments for conditions such as precocious puberty, genetic disorders, or life-threatening illnesses.
“The American people deserve accountability in how their taxpayer dollars are spent,” said Congressman Crenshaw. “Using Medicaid funds for unproven and irreversible procedures on minors is not only medically irresponsible but also a betrayal of public trust. This bill ensures that Medicaid’s limited resources are used only for evidence-based, medically necessary care.”
A Strategic First Step
Congressman Crenshaw’s legislation is being piloted in the Medicaid context to align with the procedural requirements of budget reconciliation, which allows fiscal measures to bypass the Senate’s 60-vote threshold and pass with a simple majority. Policies included in budget reconciliation must adhere strictly to budgetary implications, as governed by the Byrd rule.
A Legacy of Advocacy
This legislation builds on Congressman Crenshaw’s longstanding commitment to protecting children and promoting accountability in health care funding:
- Protect Children’s Innocence Act: Co-sponsored legislation to prohibit gender transition procedures for minors and allow civil action against providers.
- Parents Bill of Rights Act: Ensures parental consent and blocks schools from altering a child’s gender identification without parental knowledge.
- Children’s Hospital GME Support Reauthorization Act: Bars children’s hospitals that perform gender transition procedures on minors from receiving federal graduate medical education funding.
What They're Saying
"Dangerous and irreversible sex change interventions for children should have no place in the American medical system,” said Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, Chairman of Do No Harm. “These harms only compound when American citizens are forced to fund these procedures. Prohibiting federal Medicaid funding of sex change interventions for minors is essential to protect this country's children.”
"Family Policy Alliance commends Rep. Crenshaw for this hard work. Kids are not experiments. The Federal government should not be funding these barbaric sterilization and mutilation procedures. This is the right step toward further understanding how deep this insidious problem goes so we can tackle it head on. FPA believes that this should be investigated with same rigor as the Tuskegee experiments. Our federal government has not been honest with their experimentation on children and adults" said Craig DeRoche, President and CEO of Family Policy Alliance.