UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Funding rules for U.S. minors

Q1. The U.S. Medicaid programme draws its statutory basis from which one of the following?

  • A. Title IV-A of the Social Security Act, enacted in 1935
  • B. Title XIX of the Social Security Act, enacted in 1965
  • C. Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, enacted in 1965
  • D. Title XXI of the Social Security Act, enacted in 1997

Q2. Under the rule finalised by the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in August 2026, what is the maximum period of clinically managed tapering permitted for minors already receiving hormone therapy?

  • A. Three months
  • B. Twelve months
  • C. Six months
  • D. Eighteen months

Q3. The rule barring federal Medicaid and CHIP funding of gender-transition procedures for minors comes into force on which one of the following dates?

  • A. 11 August 2026
  • B. 1 January 2027
  • C. 1 October 2027
  • D. 13 October 2026

Q4. In grounding its 2026 rule, CMS relied on a February 2026 position statement opposing gender-related surgery for persons under 19, issued by which one of the following professional bodies?

  • A. The Endocrine Society
  • B. The American Academy of Pediatrics
  • C. The American Psychiatric Association
  • D. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons

Q5. Consider the following statements: 1. Puberty blockers act as gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists that block pituitary receptors, thereby inhibiting the development of secondary sexual characteristics. 2. Gender-affirming health care consists solely of medical and surgical interventions and includes no non-medical component whatsoever. 3. Under the 2026 CMS rule, mental health treatment for minors continues to be eligible for federal Medicaid and CHIP funding, whereas cross-sex hormone therapy is not. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. Puberty blockers act as gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists that block pituitary receptors, thereby inhibiting the development of secondary sexual characteristics.
  2. Gender-affirming health care consists solely of medical and surgical interventions and includes no non-medical component whatsoever.
  3. Under the 2026 CMS rule, mental health treatment for minors continues to be eligible for federal Medicaid and CHIP funding, whereas cross-sex hormone therapy is not.
  • A. 1 only
  • B. 1 and 2 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2 and 3

Q6. The federal government's contribution towards a State's Medicaid expenditure varies, depending on the State, approximately within which one of the following ranges?

  • A. 50 to 80 per cent
  • B. 25 to 50 per cent
  • C. 60 to 90 per cent
  • D. 80 to 95 per cent