Taxpayers Sue Massachusetts Medicaid About Circumcisions

After years of unproductive communications with state and federal officials about Medicaid circumcisions, Ronald Goldman, PhD, founder and Executive Director of the Circumcision Resource Center, heads a lawsuit representing taxpayers who want MassHealth (Medicaid) to stop paying for infant circumcisions. This historic legal action was filed in Suffolk County Superior Court by Attorney Peter Adler. Pertinent Federal and State regulations require that all Medicaid paid services shall be medically necessary.

The State Medicaid office pays for elective, non-therapeutic male infant circumcisions as an administrative policy decision. According to Massachusetts General Laws, State officials can be sued to have the Court order them to comply with the law. Dr. Goldman said, “Finally, we are going to hold officials accountable for their abuse of taxpayers’ funds and reduce the rate of this harmful practice.” There are about 10,000 Medicaid circumcisions a year in Massachusetts. This costs taxpayers about 17.5 million dollars per year.

  • By definition, an elective, non-therapeutic service cannot be medically necessary.
  • Even if the “potential medical benefits” claimed by circumcision advocates were true, they do not satisfy the regulation requirements for medical necessity.
  • No organization in the world recommends elective, non-therapeutic male infant circumcision. If it is not recommended, it cannot be medically necessary. More than a dozen international organizations have policies opposing circumcision.

For more information see GoFundMe.

Also see this update from June 2021, regarding an interim victory in the case.

Updated: June 21, 2021 — 11:29 am