The Silver City Republican says taxpayers should not be required to cover the care after a new federal rule ends Medicaid and CHIP funding for certain treatments beginning Oct. 13

Damien Willis, Organ Mountain News

LAS CRUCES - State Sen. Gabriel Ramos is calling on Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration to reverse plans to use state money to continue covering gender-affirming care for minors after the federal government cuts off Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program funding for certain treatments this fall.

Ramos, R-Silver City, said Tuesday that New Mexico taxpayers should not be required to pay for puberty blockers, hormone therapy or other gender-affirming treatment for minors once a new federal rule takes effect Oct. 13.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services finalized the rule earlier this month, barring the use of federal Medicaid dollars for specified gender-transition procedures for people younger than 18 and federal CHIP dollars for those procedures for people younger than 19. The rule applies to federal funding and does not prohibit states from using their own money to continue coverage.

New Mexico Health Care Authority spokesperson Timothy Fowler has said the agency plans to continue covering the affected services using state funds after the federal cutoff, according to reporting by the Santa Fe New Mexican and other outlets.

Ramos objected both to the policy and to the use of state tax dollars to support it.

“As a Catholic and a father, I believe every child is made in the image of God and deserves to be protected, not experimented on,” Ramos said in a news release. “It is unconscionable that this governor wants to force New Mexicans to pay for irreversible interventions on kids who are years away from being old enough to fully understand the consequences.”

Ramos said he intends to raise the issue with other lawmakers before the next legislative session and press the Health Care Authority for information about the cost of continuing coverage with state funds.

Federal rule ends funding, not state authority

The federal rule covers puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and certain surgical procedures. CMS says children already receiving hormone therapy may continue receiving federal coverage during a tapering-off period of up to six months after the rule takes effect.

The rule does not end federal coverage for mental health services. CMS specifically said Medicaid’s Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment requirements and CHIP mental health coverage remain in place.

That distinction matters because Ramos’ release described “related counseling and therapy services” as part of the care New Mexico would have to replace with state money. The federal rule itself does not eliminate Medicaid or CHIP coverage for mental health treatment.

The Health Care Authority has not publicly detailed how much additional state funding would be required to maintain the affected coverage, how many minors currently receive those services through Medicaid or CHIP, or whether any legislative appropriation or administrative change will be needed.

Ramos says issue is moral and fiscal

Ramos framed his opposition in both religious and fiscal terms.

“My faith teaches that we have a moral obligation to protect children, and I won’t stay silent while this administration forces every New Mexico taxpayer, including those of us who believe this is deeply wrong, to help pay for it,” he said.

He also accused the administration of using taxpayer money to advance what he called “leftist ideology” and said state officials should disclose the cost of continuing coverage.

The medical and political debate over gender-affirming care for minors remains sharply divided.

The Trump administration has argued that evidence supporting puberty blockers and hormone treatment for minors is insufficient and has cited concerns about long-term risks. CMS relied in part on a federal review and international assessments in adopting its new funding rule.

Major U.S. medical organizations have continued to support access to gender-affirming care for adolescents under appropriate clinical supervision, while some countries and U.S. states have imposed tighter restrictions on treatment for minors.

New Mexico has taken the opposite policy approach. State law protects access to reproductive and gender-affirming health care and limits cooperation with out-of-state investigations targeting care that is legal in New Mexico.

The immediate question now is fiscal as much as ideological: how much state money will be required to replace the federal share once the CMS rule takes effect, and how New Mexico intends to administer that coverage.

Ramos said he plans to keep pressing the Health Care Authority for those answers.

Damien Willis is founder and editor of Organ Mountain News. If you have a personal story to share or a lead we should follow up on, reach out at OrganMountainNews@gmail.com or connect with him on X at @damienwillis.