The federal government is pursuing restrictions on gender-affirming care through a coordinated, multifaceted enforcement strategy.

For health care providers, understanding both the tools being deployed and the methods providers are using to respond is essential to compliance planning.

Jennifer Nelson Carney, Member of the Firm, examines the federal enforcement mechanisms and discusses how health care organizations are responding to coordinated federal challenges.

Key Takeaways

• Coordinated Enforcement Tools: The federal government is employing executive orders, civil and criminal investigations, notice-and-comment rulemaking, agency enforcement actions, and public pressure campaigns to limit gender-affirming care. Providers may face challenges from multiple federal agencies and branches at once.
• Judicial Scrutiny of Agency Motives: Courts have examined whether agency enforcement actions are grounded in legitimate regulatory authority or motivated by political objectives.
• Multi-Forum Defense Strategies: Health care providers defending against coordinated federal enforcement are engaging across multiple agencies and courts rather than pursuing a single legal strategy or forum.
• Collaborative Response Efforts: Health care organizations are coordinating with peer organizations and state attorneys general in response to federal enforcement efforts.