Children’s Hospital Colorado Ordered To Resume Gender‑Affirming Care — Hospital Says No Doctors Will Provide It

Children’s Hospital Colorado announced it would resume gender‑affirming care after a court ordered the services to be restored — but added an unexpected caveat: the hospital said none of its doctors are willing to provide those treatments.

“That is false. Children’s Board of Directors implemented a policy telling its staff to stop providing gender‑affirming care, and they did as they were told,” said attorney Paula Greisen, who represented transgender patients in the suit, in an email shared with The Colorado Sun. “Now the Hospital is throwing the providers ‘under the bus’ and claiming that the doctors are refusing to comply with the law.”

Greisen called the hospital’s public shift of responsibility onto clinicians “shameful,” and added that the hospital’s statement framed the issue as individual clinicians refusing to comply rather than a board policy that halted care.

The Aurora‑based system suspended gender‑affirming services in January after federal officials warned that continuing those treatments could jeopardize the hospital’s Medicaid funding — a risk that hospital leaders said could affect tens of thousands of children across Colorado. Approximately half of Children’s Hospital Colorado’s patients are covered by Medicaid, and the system performs certain pediatric procedures elsewhere in the state cannot, including heart and bone marrow transplants. Leaders warned that loss of federal funding could force many families to travel hundreds or even thousands of miles for essential pediatric care.

Shortly after the suspension, a group of families whose children had been receiving gender‑affirming treatment filed suit, alleging the abrupt halt caused their children to experience depression and trauma. The families argued the suspension was discriminatory, noting the hospital continues to prescribe hormone therapy and puberty blockers to non‑trans youth when those treatments are medically indicated for other conditions. The hospital has never performed gender‑affirming surgeries on patients under 18.

After a judge ordered gender‑affirming care to resume, Children’s Hospital’s board asked the court to require the families to post a $250,000 bond before treatments were restored, citing potential financial risk. The hospital withdrew that bond request the following day, saying it did not want to cause additional concern for patients and families. In the judge’s order, Judge Ericka Englert — appointed in 2019 by Colorado Governor Jared Polis — set the bond at $1.

What This Means

The dispute highlights a clash between federal funding concerns, hospital governance, and clinicians’ ability to deliver care. Families and advocates say the suspension and the manner in which the hospital shifted responsibility have real consequences for patients’ mental and physical health. Hospital leaders say they face complex legal and financial pressures tied to federal oversight of Medicaid.

The case is likely to continue generating legal and public scrutiny as stakeholders debate how hospitals should balance regulatory compliance, patient needs and staff responsibilities when policies and federal guidance conflict.