Texas Children’s Hospital to Open Detransition Clinic and Fire Five Doctors in $10 Million Settlement

Texas Children’s Hospital, the largest children’s hospital in the United States, will create the country’s first multidisciplinary clinic to reverse the effects of gender transition procedures performed on minors and will fire five doctors involved in those procedures.

The hospital reached the agreement to settle a joint investigation by the state and the Justice Department. Under the terms announced on Friday, Texas Children’s Hospital will pay $10 million and provide the new services free of charge to patients for the first five years.

Officials said the investigation examined the hospital’s practices, including its use of billing codes when seeking Medicaid reimbursements for gender-affirming treatments that state law prohibits. The hospital cooperated with the probe.

Hospital said in a statement that it has been compliant with all laws. The hospital added that it was settling the investigation to protect its resources from endless and costly litigation and to return to focusing on patient care. “We stand proud knowing we will always put our purpose over politics and that we have and will continue to follow the law,” the hospital said.

The hospital agreed never to hire or credential them again and will amend its bylaws to trigger automatic relinquishment of privileges for any doctor who violates the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors. The Justice Department said its investigation found that the hospital violated federal laws prohibiting fraud, conspiracy and making false claims to the government.

Officials noted the hospital’s multi-million-dollar commitment to providing care to the victims who most need it. The settlement requires the hospital to establish the first-ever multidisciplinary clinic designed to reverse the effects of gender transition procedures.

For the first five years those services will be provided at no cost to patients. Civil rights groups and some Democratic lawmakers criticized the settlement, saying it placed politics over sound medical practice. One advocacy group described the agreement as capitulation to pressure campaigns to end such care and penalize physicians who provided it.

The Justice Department is investigating providers across the country, including a criminal probe involving one of New York City’s major hospital networks, for providing treatment such as hormone therapy and surgeries to minors.