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BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today issued a statement opposing three of the Trump administration’s newly proposed rules: the Reimbursement Rule would prohibit federal reimbursement for gender-affirming care for minors in the Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Programs (CHIP), the Condition of Participation Rule would prohibit providers who perform gender-affirming care on minors from participating in the Medicaid and Medicare programs, and the Disability Exclusion Rule would change the definition of disability in regulations implementing the American with Disabilities Act to exclude gender dysphoria.
“The Trump administration is weaponizing federal funding to deny lifesaving care to vulnerable young people,” said Attorney General Anthony Brown. “These proposals would force Maryland hospitals and providers into an unconscionable choice: abandon trans youth who need medically necessary care, or lose federal funding. Maryland has strong laws protecting access to this essential healthcare, and our Office will deploy every legal tool available to block these discriminatory rules and defend the trans youth and providers who depend on this care.”
The Reimbursement Rule would stop two federal healthcare programs from paying for medically necessary gender-affirming healthcare for anyone under the age of 18 under Medicaid and under the age of 19 under CHIP. The Condition of Participation Rule would prohibit providers of medically necessary gender-affirming care from participating in the Medicaid and Medicare programs. The Disability Exclusion Rule would change the definition of disability under the ADA to exclude gender dysphoria. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will accept public comments on the proposed Reimbursement Rule and Condition of Participation Rule for 60 days and will accept comment on the Disability Exclusion Rule for 30 days.
Maryland law requires that the Maryland Medical Assistance Program – Maryland’s version of Medicaid – provide gender-affirming care in a non-discriminatory manner. Maryland law also requires that medically necessary gender-affirming care be provided by the Medical Assistance Program. Further guidance regarding LGBTQ+ protections under Maryland law is available on the Attorney General’s website: https://oag.maryland.gov/FederalActionsResponse/Documents/pdfs/2025_LGBTQI+_Guidance_Memorandum.pdf.
Earlier this month, Attorney General Brown joined a coalition of 20 attorneys general in filing an amicus brief opposing the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) subpoena targeting the release of private medical records, including patient records, related to gender-affirming care at Children’s Hospital Colorado. In October, Attorney General Brown filed similar amicus briefs opposing DOJ’s subpoena for patient records related to gender-affirming care at Boston Children’s Hospital and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. And in August, Attorney General Brown joined a multistate coalition in filing a lawsuit that challenges the Trump administration’s executive order that attempts to restrict the provision of medically necessary gender-affirming care for individuals under the age of 19 by threatening providers with civil and criminal prosecution under specious legal theories.
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