QM Weekly Update for Aug 18, 2026
🏳️⚧️⚕️🏛️ On Thursday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid published a final rule that prevents Medicaid funds from being used to cover gender-affirming care for trans youth under 18, and also bars this use of Children’s Health Insurance Program funds for those under 19. States that want to preserve this care in their Medicaid programs will be required to cover it themselves.
More information:
"Trump's new Medicaid rule strips care from low-income families of transgender youth"
- https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/low-income-trans-youth-trump
🏳️⚧️⚕️🏛️ On August 10th, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion with a federal appeals court requesting to voluntarily dismiss the agency’s appeal to obtain the confidential medical records of trans youth who received gender-affirming care at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh.
More information:
"Trump administration abandons legal appeal for trans' kids medical records"
- https://www.advocate.com/health/transgender-health/umpc-trans-supboena-case-over
"Trump admin admits defeat in attempt to get trans' kids medical records”
- https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/08/admin-admits-defeat-in-attempt-to-get-trans-kids-medical-records/
🏳️⚧️🏐⚖️ On August 10th, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by the state of Minnesota against President Trump’s “two sexes” executive order which attempts to bar school districts from allowing trans students to play sports on gender-congruent teams, ruling that the state has faced no legal injury that would give it standing to sue.
More information:
"Federal judge dismisses Minnesota’s lawsuit against Trump administration’s anti-trans stance"
- https://www.lgbtqnation.com/2026/08/federal-judge-dismisses-minnesotas-against-administrations-anti-trans-stance/
🏳️⚧️⚕️🏛️ On Thursday, the Trump administration's Department of Health and Human Services released a report accusing health care providers of widespread fraud, alleging that some insurance claims for puberty blockers were improperly coded to conceal that they were for gender-affirming care.
More information:
"JD Vance demands that the DOJ investigate hospitals caring for transgender patients"
- https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/jd-vance-doj-transgender-hospitals
🏳️⚧️⚕️ A systematic review of 24 studies that was published earlier this month found that gender-affirming hormone therapy is associated with positive outcomes in the mental health of trans adults, including improvements in quality of life and reductions ining depression and anxiety.
More information:
"The impact of gender-affirming hormone therapy on mental health outcomes in transgender adults: a systematic review"
- https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/26895269.2026.2713176#abstract
🏳️⚧️⚕️🏛️ On Wednesday, the Trevor Project stated that their proposal to rejoin the LGBTQ+ youth services network of the 988 mental health crisis line when the network is reinstated by the end of this year was rejected by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The Trevor Project was a key player in the initial creation and operation of the LGBTQ+ youth services network of the 988 line.
"Trump admin rejects The Trevor Project from restored LGBTQ+ 988 crisis lifeline it helped build"
- https://www.advocate.com/politics/national/trevor-project-excluded-988
🏳️🌈⚕️ The Queering Medicine Provider Directory is a community resource that helps LGBTQ+ individuals in the Greater Lansing Area connect with affirming healthcare providers and services by maintaining an up-to-date, reliable, community-informed directory. Know an affirming provider around Lansing? Please share the provider submission form with them so they can apply to be included in our directory!
More information:
“Queering Medicine Provider Directory”
“Queering Medicine Provider Directory Submission Form”
- https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1alQRVQP0rK6QRgcxKQ-OiJS-x6nt0o4NRdyX_soPeFo/edit