FTC wants to know more about deceptive claims over gender-affirming care

The Federal Trade Commission on Monday launched an inquiry into whether health providers are failing to disclose risks connected with gender-affirming care or are making false claims about its benefits.Why it matters: The action could help make the case for using unfair competition laws to crack down on health providers, by asserting gender-affirming care involves deceptive claims, legal analysts say.Driving the news: The FTC solicited public comment through Sept. 26 from consumers who "may have been exposed to false or unsupported claims about 'gender-affirming care,' especially as it relates to minors." The move followed a public workshop the FTC held in early July to "gauge the harms consumers may be experiencing" surrounding gender-affirming care for minors that featured prominent critics of youth gender-affirming care.The agency justified its involvement by saying its role is to assess whether medical professionals have violated parts of the FTC Act by failing to disclose risks connected with gender-affirming care or making false or unsubstantiated claims about its benefits or effectiveness.Reality check: Gender-affirming care for minors is supported by major medical organizations including the American Medical Association.Drugs like puberty blockers and hormone therapy are prescribed based on individuals' needs and surgeries for minors are rare. Most people who accessed transition-related care as adolescents are happy with that decision as adults, research shows.Zoom out: The Trump administration has used threats of federal funding cutoffs and law enforcement against providers of gender-affirming care, especially to minors. It has said the actions are necessary to protect minors from fraud and medical complications as a result of such medical interventions.Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Stanford Medicine and Pittsburgh's UPMC are among the facilities that paused or stopped services following Trump administration federal probes and concerns over continued funding.State authorities could open a new front by using the administration's interpretation of federal unfair competition law as a basis to enforce similar state laws, Crowell & Moring said in a recent client alert.

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