Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell joined a coalition of 19 other states in suing the Trump Administration to ensure that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) cannot unlawfully threaten providers with a declaration that baselessly attempts to limit access to gender-affirming care for young people.
The declaration, published by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy on Dec. 18, falsely claims that certain forms of gender-affirming care are “unsafe and ineffective” and threatens to punish any doctors, hospitals, and clinics that continue to provide such care by excluding them from the federal Medicare and Medicaid programs. AG Campbell and the coalition argue that the Secretary does not have the authority to make this threat and that the declaration violates federal law by changing medical standards without going through the proper notice and comment process. The coalition is asking the court to set aside the unlawful declaration.
“Health care decisions should be made by patients, families, and their providers — not by politicians making false claims about the safety of care,” Campbell said. “This declaration unlawfully attempts to limit access to medically necessary and lifesaving care for trans youth and threatens access to health care for millions who rely on Medicaid. I will continue to fight back against illegal policies that harm our residents and violate their rights.”
Campbell and the coalition argue that HHS’s declaration is an attempt to singlehandedly redefine the nationwide standard of care without consulting professional organizations, doctors, patients, or states. In doing so, the agency is illegally circumventing federal laws that require it to provide the public with notice and an opportunity to comment before making health care policy changes. Further, by attempting to impose a single nationwide standard and threatening to punish providers who adhere to the professionally established, evidence-based standard of care, HHS is unlawfully interfering in decisions that should be made by doctors and their patients.
The attorneys general warn that, as a result of this unlawful action, patients could lose access to gender-affirming care and the Medicaid system could face instability. By threatening to disqualify providers who offer gender-affirming care, the federal government is forcing doctors to choose between continuing to provide care to trans youth and ensuring continued care to Medicaid patients — a choice between their patients and their livelihood. Together, these consequences mean that transgender youth and their families face fear and uncertainty about whether ongoing care could be taken away, and all Medicaid patients could lose access to needed providers.
In addition to Kennedy’s declaration, HHS proposed two rules that would completely bar gender-affirming care providers and associated hospitals from participating in Medicare and Medicaid and ban payments for transgender health care through Medicaid. Those rules have not yet gone into effect, and HHS has given the public until Feb. 17, 2026 to submit comments on the proposals.
Joining Campbell in this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin, and the governor of Pennsylvania.
