Dr. Oz Addresses High Costs of Care for Transgender Minors, Discusses Surgery Expenses
Dr. Mehmet Oz.
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NEED TO KNOW
- Dr. Mehmet Oz is questioning the cost of trans healthcare procedures amid the Trump administration’s decision to restrict gender-affirming care for minors.
- Oz, 65, criticized what he deemed excessive prices for procedures, including phalloplasty and vaginoplasty.
- The federal government has proposed rules that would limit hospitals from providing puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and surgeries to minors.
Dr. Mehmet Oz raised concerns about the high costs associated with transgender healthcare procedures in light of the Trump administration’s recent decision to restrict gender-affirming care for minors. This statement comes despite expert opinions indicating that most children do not undergo such procedures.
According to the Daily Beast, during a December 18 announcement regarding the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) decision to partially halt these medical practices, Oz criticized the inflated costs for procedures such as phalloplasty and vaginoplasty.
“A vaginoplasty — a procedure a child does not need — costs $60,000,” Oz stated, adding that a phalloplasty averages $150,000 for children in America.
He further remarked, “I do believe, with doing some work, that these prices have continued to increase due to increased manufactured demand. A scrotalplasty, where you add testicles? That’s extra.”
Dr. Mehmet Oz in August 2025.
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Oz’s statements contrast with reported costs for various gender-affirming surgeries, which are generally not performed on children. The Gender Confirmation Center cites that vaginoplasty ranges from $23,000 to $24,500, while phalloplasty costs between $35,000 and $50,000.
Both the Boston Children’s Hospital Center for Gender Surgery and the Gender Confirmation Center maintain that these surgeries are not recommended for transgender individuals under the age of 18.
It is highlighted by Transhealthcare.org that it is extremely rare for patients under 18 to receive genital surgery.
Amid these discussions, the Department of Health and Human Services announced plans aimed at curbing transition-related care for minors, branding these services as “sex-rejecting procedures.”
According to NBC News, the Trump administration’s proposed regulations would block federal funding to hospitals that provide transgender care to children.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. remarked at a press conference, stating, “Doctors who provide trans healthcare to minors offer needless and irreversible sex-rejecting procedures that violate their sacred Hippocratic Oath, endangering the very lives they are sworn to safeguard.”
Kennedy also criticized the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, claiming their endorsements of chemical and surgical sex-rejecting procedures for gender dysphoria represent malpractice.
Nearly all U.S. hospitals participate in Medicare and Medicaid programs.
“We’re announcing a notice of proposed rulemaking that ends taxpayer funding of sex-rejecting procedures for children in Medicaid and CHIP [Children’s Health Insurance Program, a federally funded program for uninsured kids], full stop,” Oz asserted. “We’re not going to let taxpayer money go to hurt these children.”
However, the Trump administration’s proposals have faced backlash from several doctors and advocates. Critics argue that the government should not interfere so directly in patient care.
Dr. Susan Kressly, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, expressed concern that the new policies misinterpret the current medical consensus and fail to acknowledge the needs of children and families.
A person waves a transgender pride flag during the People’s March in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 18, 2025.
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In a concluding statement, Kressly noted, “Allowing the government to determine which patient groups deserve care sets a dangerous precedent. Children and families will bear the consequences.”
Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, highlighted the administration’s persistent efforts to deny healthcare access, particularly to the transgender community, asserting that families should have the freedom to seek necessary medical care.
Alongside restricting relevant medications and surgeries, Kennedy stated that the Trump administration would cease classifying gender dysphoria as a disability and enact regulations on physical gender-affirming aids.
Kennedy warned that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would issue warnings to manufacturers of breast binders, often used by transgender youth, threatening action against those illegally marketing such products to children.
