The Center Square | Updated CDC Codes Will Support De-Transitioners, Medical Watchdog Says
New CDC Diagnosis Codes Will Recognize Detransition in Medical Records
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is introducing new ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes that will allow healthcare providers to more specifically document patients who have discontinued a gender transition or whose gender dysphoria is considered in remission.
The new codes are scheduled to take effect October 1, 2026, as part of the FY2027 update to the ICD-10-CM system used for medical recordkeeping, billing, insurance, and health data collection.
Among the additions is a code for “Gender identity disorder, in remission,” which can be used when a patient no longer meets the diagnostic criteria for gender dysphoria. Separate codes will also identify a personal history of social, medical, or surgical gender transition, as well as a personal history of gender detransition.
Until now, there have not been specific ICD-10-CM codes designed to document these circumstances.
Medical advocacy organization Do No Harm, which supported the addition of the codes, says the changes could make detransitioners more visible within the healthcare system and improve physicians’ ability to document their medical histories. The organization also believes more specific coding could contribute to better insurance coverage, patient care, and research into outcomes following gender-related medical interventions.
The National Center for Health Statistics, a division of the CDC, told The Center Square that codes related to gender identity disorder in remission, transition, and detransition were proposed and discussed during public ICD-10 coordination and maintenance meetings in September 2025 and March 2026.
Beyond individual medical records, the new classifications could eventually provide researchers with more consistent data about patients who discontinue or reverse a gender transition—an area where reliable long-term information has been limited.
The updated codes represent a notable change in how the U.S. healthcare system can recognize and document transition and detransition experiences, providing new ways to track patient histories and potentially better understand their long-term healthcare needs.