This is part one of a series of executive orders related to health care.
March 14, 2025
President Trump rescinded a number of Biden-era executive orders (EOs), two of which are health related.
Executive Order 13994 (2021): The Ensuring a Data Driven Response to COVID-19 and Future High-Consequence Public Health Threats.
The Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of Labor, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Secretary of Education, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Director of National Intelligence, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Director of the National Science Foundation to designate a senior official to serve as their agency’s lead to work on COVID-19 and pandemic-related data issues and to make data relevant to high-consequence public health threats publicly available and accessible.
HHS, in consultation with the COVID-19 response coordinator and the heads of relevant agencies, were to review the effectiveness, interoperability and connectivity of public health data systems supporting the detection of and response to high-consequence public health threats; review the collection of morbidity and mortality data by state, local, tribal and territorial governments during high-consequence public health threats; and issue a report summarizing the findings of the review and recommendations for addressing the areas of improvement identified.
OTSP in consultation with the National Science and Technology Council, was to develop a plan for advancing innovation in public health data and analytics in the United States.
Executive Order 14081 (2022): Advancing Biotechnology and Biomanufacturing Innovation for a Sustainable, Safe and Secure American Bioeconomy.
Promotion of standards, establishment of metrics and developing systems to grow and assess the state of the bioeconomy to better inform policy, decision making and investments in the bioeconomy and to ensure equitable and ethical development of the bioeconomy.
Protection of the U.S. bioeconomy by adopting a forward-looking, proactive approach to assessing and anticipating threats, risks and potential vulnerabilities and by partnering with the private sector and other relevant stakeholders to jointly mitigate risks to protect technology leadership and economic competitiveness.
Engagement with the international community to enhance biotechnology R&D cooperation consistent with U.S. principles and values that promote best practices for safe and security biotechnology and biomanufacturing research, innovation and product development and use.
The EO outlined numerous responsibilities and a timeline for parts of the government to meet the goals of the EO.
January 28, 2025
Defending Women from Gender Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government
Provisions:
- Establishes federal government agencies can only recognize two genders: male and female.
- Federal funds cannot be used to promote “gender ideology,” including to hospitals and health care centers providing gender-affirming care.
- Transgender people must be held in prisons of their gender assigned at birth and prisons must cease in providing gender-affirming health care.
- Federal agencies are required to remove all published and internal guidance documents relating to gender identity.
Legal Actions:
- ACLU, PFLAG and the American Association of Physicians for Human Rights filed a joint lawsuit on Feb. 4, 2025. Lawsuit cites violation of Article 1 of the Constitution, gender discrimination, disability discrimination, Equal Protection clause of the Fifth Amendment, denial of due process under the Fifth Amendment and violation of the First Amendment.
- Recent Actions: Feb. 13, 2025 – Federal judge blocked two EOs about transgender health care.
- Doe v. McHenry III – Three transgender inmates filed an emergency restraining order against the provision that requires transgender inmates to be transferred to a prison for their gender assigned at birth.
January 23, 2025
Rescission of a Biden Executive Order on Healthcare
Among the many rescissions of the Biden administration Executive Orders, signed by President Trump on his administration’s first day, was a rescission of an Executive Order that encouraged Medicare to lower drug costs and make other changes. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) had announced three models in February 2023.
One model would have encouraged Medicare drug plans to offer a copayment for certain inexpensive generic drugs capped at $2/month/drug. Another would have called on state Medicaid agencies to jointly create outcome-based agreements with manufacturers for expensive cell and gene therapies and that model was intended to ensure that states pay a price based on the drug having its desired effect on improving patient health. CMMI is taking applications for the cell and gene therapy model until Feb. 28.
A third model would reduce Medicare funding on drugs cleared by the Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated approval process, which speeds up the approval of medications that fill unmet needs.
In addition, the rescission effected two other policies. First, the rescission ends the extended enrollment period for individuals enrolling in plans offered in the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces. There had been an additional 12 weeks in 36 states. Second, President Trump also rescinded an order aimed at providing more outreach funding to states to strengthen Medicaid.
The Biden administration’s accomplishments for Medicare patients, including placing a $35 per month cap on insulin, a $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cap on prescription drugs and Medicare’s negotiating drug pricing were included in congressionally passed legislation and cannot explicitly be overturned by an Executive Order. Executive Orders can be used to determine how the executive branch will interpret the law.
January 20, 2025
Transgender Care: Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation
Provisions:
- “The United States […] will not fund, sponsor, promote, assist or support the so-called ‘transition’ of a child from one sex to another, and it will rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures.”
- Section Three: Reform scientific research done on how to treat minors with gender dysphoria via Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary report within 90 days. Removes any laws that require guidance from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.
- Section Four: All agencies must ensure the end of any federal research or education grants to institutions providing or researching transgender health care for minors be halted.
- Section Five: Additional directives to HHS Secretary include restricting Medicare and Medicaid coverage of transgender health care for minors, including state Medicaid programs, review transgender health care related drugs, including puberty blockers, hormones, and gender-affirming procedures and promote “whistleblowers” to report when this EO is disregarded.
- Section Six: Exclude transgender health care for minors covered by Tricare.
- Section Seven: Include provisions in the Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB) and Postal Service Health Benefits (PSHB) programs call letter for 2026 specifying that eligible carriers, including the Foreign Service Benefit Plan, will exclude coverage for pediatric transgender surgeries or hormone treatments.
- Section Eight: Attorney General (AG) should prioritize enforcement of protections against “female genital mutilation.” AG will convene state AGs to coordinate the enforcement of this EO. AG will prioritize investigations and actions against violations of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act for “misleading the public about the long-term side effects.” AG will work with Congress to create legislation to end transgender health care for minors nationwide. AG will prioritize investigations and actions against health care facilities conducting gender-affirming care to minors, removing minors from parents’ custody via Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act for “abuse.”
Legal Actions:
- States of Washington, Oregon and Minnesota, and three doctors filed a joint lawsuit on Feb. 7, 2025. Lawsuit cites violations of the 10th Amendment.
- Court: District Court of Western District of Washington at Seattle
- American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and the American Association of Physicians for Human Rights filed a joint lawsuit on
- Feb. 4, 2025. Lawsuit cites violation of Article 1 of the Constitution, gender discrimination, disability discrimination, Equal Protection clause of the Fifth Amendment, denial of due process under the Fifth Amendment and violation of the First Amendment. Court: District Court of Maryland
Recent Actions:
- Feb. 13, 2025 – Federal judge in Baltimore blocked two EOs about transgender health care. U.S. Supreme Court Case: United States v. Skretti. ACLU and Biden administration challenge Tennessee law, Senate Bill 1 (SB1), banning transgender health care for minors. Tennessee law was upheld in the U.S. 6th Court of Appeals. Lawsuit argues SB1 violates the 14th Amendment.
- Recent Actions: SCOTUS hearing in December 2024. Decision will be released in mid to late 2025. On Feb. 7, 2025, the Trump administration notified the court that in its view the Tennessee law does not violate the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. However, the filing did not argue for dismissal saying that prompt resolution of the equal protection question “will bear on many cases pending in the lower courts.”
Click here to read part two of this series of executive orders related to health care.
Click here to read part three of this series of executive orders related to health care.
Click here to read part four of this series of executive orders related to health care.
Click here to read part five of this series of executive orders related to health care.
