Corewell Health drops gender-affirming care for minors amid federal crackdown

Corewell Health will no longer prescribe puberty blockers or hormone therapy to minors for gender affirmation
It’s the second major hospital system in Michigan to move away from pediatric gender care amid the Trump administration’s investigation of clinics and doctors
LGBTQ+ advocates say the decision is ‘devastating’ to the state’s 4,000 trans youth

Corewell Health is now the second major health care system in Michigan to confirm it has discontinued gender-affirming care for minors following pressure from the Trump administration.

The decision follows a national trend of hospitals ending pediatric gender services after the White House announced its efforts to end “gender ideology extremism” at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term, ordering the restriction of treatments for those 19 years and younger.

“Given the serious risk of legal and regulatory action, Corewell Health will no longer prescribe puberty blockers or hormone therapy to minors for gender affirmation,” the Grand Rapids-based health system said in a statement.

Corewell operates 21 hospital sites and more than 300 outpatient locations across the state, and employs more than 28,000 doctors and nurses.

“Like many health care systems across the country, we made this decision to protect both our health care providers and our patients,” the statement continued. “We will continue to compassionately address the health needs of our patients who are in transition or wish to transition, including providing mental health support.”

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Corewell initially announced it would halt gender-affirming care in February following Trump’s executive order to defund services, but quickly reversed its decision after legal challenges.

The University of Michigan, including Michigan Medicine, was the first major hospital system in the state to announce its decision to end gender affirming hormonal therapies and puberty blocker medications for minors, saying in August it had received a federal subpoena.

The US Department of Justice is investigating more than 20 doctors and clinics across the country for providing transgender medical services to minors.

Other Michigan health care systems have offered scant details about how they are proceeding with gender-affirming care for minors among the federal crackdown.

“We are closely monitoring developments on this important topic, and our policies are currently under legal review to ensure we provide care to all our patients within accepted medical standards and consistent with applicable law,” Megan Brown, spokesperson for Munson Healthcare in northern Michigan, said in an email.

Bronson Healthcare, which operates hospitals and medical services in Kalamazoo and southwest Michigan, said it was “assessing its continued provision of gender-affirming care for minors.”

“Bronson remains committed to providing compassionate, evidence-based healthcare to all individuals, including those seeking gender-affirming services, in compliance with applicable laws and medical best practices,” said spokesperson Marcie McCann in an email.

Bridge Michigan reached out to Henry Ford Health, Detroit Medical Center, McLaren Health Care, Trinity Health Michigan and MyMichigan Health but did not receive a response on the current status of their pediatric gender services in time for this story’s publication.

‘It’s a matter of lives’

The state’s premier LGBTQ+ advocacy group decried Corewell’s decision as “devastating”, with leaders there saying health care systems are “retreating under political pressure, leaving vulnerable young people to shoulder the harm.”

“This is not just a matter of policy, it’s a matter of lives,” said Erin Knott, executive director of Equality Michigan, in a statement. “Trans youth are left with the message that their health and well-being are expendable.”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office reported in 2024 that Michigan is home to more than 33,000 transgender adults and nearly 4,000 trans youth.

In August, the state joined a multistate coalition in challenging the legality of the Trump administration’s efforts to restrict access to medical treatment for transgender people.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel authored an open letter last month, reiterating state health care providers’ obligation to provide gender-affirming treatment to their patients.

“Refusing healthcare services to a class of individuals based on their protected status, such as withholding the availability of services from transgender individuals based on their gender identity or their diagnosis of gender dysphoria, while offering such services to cisgender individuals, may constitute discrimination under Michigan law,” Nessel wrote.

Several physician and medical groups support the use of mental health services, non-medical social transition, gender-affirming hormone therapy and surgeries to affirm gender or treat gender dysphoria in minors.

“Transgender children, like all children, have the best chance to thrive when they are supported and can obtain the health care they need,” Dr. James L. Madara, the former CEO and executive vice president of the American Medical Association, wrote in a letter addressed to the National Governors Association in 2021.

“Studies suggest that improved body satisfaction and self-esteem following the receipt of gender-affirming care is protective against poorer mental health and supports healthy relationships with parents and peers.”

According to a database maintained by the non-profit Do No Harm, a conservative medical advocacy group opposed to gender-affirming care, 735 minors in Michigan have received the treatment since 2019. Of that, most have received only hormone therapy while 186 are said to have gotten a surgical procedure.

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