Prohibition of Medicaid Funding for Conversion Therapy Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Prohibition of Medicaid Funding for Conversion Therapy Act requires state Medicaid plans and waivers to stop paying for conversion therapy beginning with the first quarter after enactment. It defines conversion therapy as compensated practice or treatment seeking to change sexual orientation or gender identity, including efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or reduce same-gender attractions or feelings. The definition excludes care that does not seek to change sexual orientation or gender identity, including assistance with gender transition, acceptance, support, understanding, coping, social support, identity exploration and development, and sexual-orientation-neutral interventions to address unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices. The bill also amends federal Medicaid payment rules so federal funds do not support conversion-therapy payments.
Who Benefits and How
LGBTQ Medicaid beneficiaries benefit because Medicaid funds could not pay providers for conversion therapy aimed at changing sexual orientation or gender identity. Transgender Medicaid beneficiaries benefit because gender-transition assistance is expressly excluded from the banned conversion-therapy definition. Affirming behavioral health providers benefit because support, coping, identity exploration, and neutral safety interventions remain payable. Medicaid civil rights advocates benefit from a clear federal funding bar against compensated conversion therapy.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Conversion therapy providers lose Medicaid reimbursement for covered enrollees. State Medicaid agencies must update plan rules, waiver administration, claims screening, and provider guidance. Medicaid managed care organizations must ensure network payments exclude conversion therapy. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services must oversee state compliance and federal matching restrictions.
Key Provisions
- Prohibits Medicaid payment for conversion therapy beginning with the first quarter after enactment.
- Defines conversion therapy as compensated efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity or reduce same-gender attraction.
- Protects gender-transition assistance, acceptance, support, coping, identity exploration, and neutral safety interventions from the ban.
- Blocks federal Medicaid matching funds for conversion-therapy payments.
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
Bars Medicaid payment and federal matching funds for compensated conversion therapy while excluding gender-transition assistance, acceptance, support, identity exploration, and neutral safety interventions.
Key Policy Areas
Medicaid, LGBTQ Rights, Behavioral Health
Primary Purpose
Bars Medicaid payment and federal matching funds for compensated conversion therapy while excluding gender-transition assistance, acceptance, support, identity exploration, and neutral safety interventions.
Policy Domains
Resolution provisions
Identified Gains
- LGBTQ Medicaid beneficiaries
- Transgender Medicaid beneficiaries
- Affirming behavioral health providers
- Medicaid civil rights advocates
Identified Costs
- Conversion therapy providers
- State Medicaid agencies
- Medicaid managed care organizations
- Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
In CommitteeMr. Thanedar (for himself, Ms. Brownley, Mr. Casten, Ms. Davids …
Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Introduced in House
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
LGBTQ Medicaid beneficiaries, Transgender Medicaid beneficiaries
Affirming behavioral health providers, Conversion therapy providers
Positive-direction: Affirming behavioral health providers
Negative-direction: Conversion therapy providers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
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