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New Pharmacy Pathway for Gender Affirming Care Medications for Youth
Effective date
Oct 13, 2026
Identified
Oct 28, 2026
Summary
Effective October 13, 2026, federal reimbursement limitations on gender affirming care medications for youth enrolled in Medi-Cal and CHIP are now in effect. California has established a new pharmacy pathway through Pucci's Pharmacy to manage prescriptions for affected youth, requiring prescribers and pharmacies to submit orders directly to this contracted provider using new submission procedures.
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What to do
Action · 6 steps
01Already effective (October 13, 2026): Verify whether the practice prescribes gender affirming care medications to youth on Medi-Cal or CHIP.
02If applicable, billing and clinical staff should.
03Review the Prescriber Guide available on the HCAI Gender Affirming Care Provider webpage for detailed submission instructions.
04Update prescription routing workflows to direct gender affirming care medication prescriptions for eligible youth to Pucci's Pharmacy instead of standard pharmacy channels.
05Contact genderaffirmingcare@hcai.ca.gov for operational clarification and compliance questions.
06Confirm current applicability with HCAI, as federal reimbursement restrictions may affect claim reimbursement for non-compliant submissions.
Original notice
New Pharmacy Pathway for Gender Affirming Care Medications for Youth
mcweb.apps.prd.cammis.medi-cal.ca.gov · Always check the source before changing claims.