To amend title XIX of the Social Security Act to prohibit payments under the Medicaid program for conversion therapy, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Prohibition of Medicaid Funding for Conversion Therapy Act amends the Social Security Act to ban Medicaid payments for conversion therapy. It defines conversion therapy as any paid practice or treatment that seeks to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity. The bill explicitly excludes gender transition assistance and supportive counseling from the definition.
Who Benefits and How
LGBTQ+ individuals enrolled in Medicaid are protected from having federal healthcare dollars used for practices aimed at changing their sexual orientation or gender identity. Mental health advocates and medical organizations that oppose conversion therapy benefit from the federal codification of their position. Gender-affirming care and supportive counseling are specifically protected.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Providers who offer conversion therapy services would lose Medicaid reimbursement for those specific practices. States that currently allow Medicaid to cover conversion therapy would need to update their Medicaid plans to comply with the new prohibition.
Key Provisions
- Bans all Medicaid payments for conversion therapy, effective the first quarter after enactment
- Defines conversion therapy as any paid practice seeking to change sexual orientation or gender identity
- Explicitly excludes gender transition assistance and supportive identity counseling from the ban
- Adds a conforming amendment to block federal matching funds for conversion therapy expenditures
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Prohibits the use of Medicaid funds to pay for conversion therapy, which is defined as any paid practice or treatment that seeks to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.
Key Policy Areas
Healthcare, LGBTQ+ Rights, Medicaid
Primary Purpose
Prohibits the use of Medicaid funds to pay for conversion therapy, which is defined as any paid practice or treatment that seeks to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.
Policy Domains
Whole Bill
Identified Gains
- LGBTQ+ Medicaid Enrollees
- Mental Health Advocates
Identified Costs
- Conversion Therapy Providers
- States Permitting Medicaid-Funded Conversion Therapy
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Thanedar (for himself, Mr. Bera, Ms. Brownley, Ms. Castor …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Gender-affirming care providers, Providers of conversion therapy
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "CMS"
- → Enforces the prohibition through federal matching fund restrictions
- "Healthcare Providers"
- → Cannot receive Medicaid reimbursement for conversion therapy
- "State Medicaid Programs"
- → Must update plans to prohibit payments for conversion therapy
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology