Article By Ryan Foley
Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston has agreed to establish the first-ever clinic designed to care for detransitioners after agreeing to settle federal allegations that it billed Texas Medicaid for “unallowable and illegal ‘gender-transition’ interventions,” including the use of false diagnosis codes.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday that Texas Children’s Hospital agreed to pay $10 million in damages for performing so-called gender transition procedures on trans-identified minors as part of a settlement that also includes the establishment of “the first-of-its-kind clinic dedicated to restorative care for detransitioners.”
The settlement also compels the termination of multiple physicians.
The term “detransitioners” refers to people who underwent some sex-change procedure and later regretted the decision. The settlement resolves allegations that Texas Children’s Hospital “submitted false billings to public and private payors to secure insurance coverage for pediatric sex-rejecting procedures.”
The DOJ alleged that the payments violated multiple federal laws, including the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and the False Claims Act. The agency described the settlement as “the first resolution secured under the Department’s ongoing investigation into violations of federal law” involving gender procedures performed on minors.
“The Justice Department will use every weapon at its disposal to end the destructive and discredited practice of so-called ‘gender-affirming care’ for children,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “Today’s resolution protects vulnerable children, holds providers accountable, and ensures those harmed receive the care they need.”
Friday’s settlement resulted from a collaborative effort between the DOJ and the Texas Attorney General’s Office, which provided additional details about the agreement in a statement on Friday.
The detransitioner clinic will be free of charge to patients during its first five years of operation.
“I applaud Texas Children’s Hospital for changing course and committing to being a part of the solution by agreeing to form a first-of-its-kind Detransition Clinic that will help provide free care to those who have been victimized by twisted, morally bankrupt transgender ideology,” said Texas’ Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton. “Under my watch, I will investigate and bring the full force of the law against any Texas hospital that abuses children with harmful medical interventions to ‘transition’ kids.”
The establishment of a clinic for detransitioners at Texas Children’s Hospital comes three years after prominent detransitioner Chloe Cole spoke about the medical and financial challenges she and other detransitioners face during an appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2023.
Explaining that her health insurance does not cover detransitioning, Cole said: “I’ve reached out to the team of medical professionals who helped me transition, and I haven’t gotten any help with my detransition.”
“I’m having a lot of complications from the blockers, the cross-sex hormones and the surgery, and I haven’t gotten help with any of those,” she added. “There’s no standards of care for people like me.”
Much has changed since Cole delivered those remarks at CPAC. The number of states that have banned gender surgeries and hormones has expanded considerably.
Twenty-seven states and Puerto Rico ban some or all types of the procedures for minors: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
The American College of Pediatricians lists “osteoporosis, mood disorders, seizures, [and] cognitive impairment” as possible side effects of puberty-blocking drugs while identifying “an increased risk of heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, blood clots and cancers” as potential effects of cross-sex hormones.
Speaking during a press conference late last year, Cole described the emotional impact of having her breasts removed and losing the ability to breastfeed in the future.
“There’s grief, every single day, I carry with me silently,” she said. “The only thing in the world that makes me angry is knowing that this is continuing to happen to children all across the United States and throughout the globe.”
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