The referrals came a day after the Trump administration ended federal funding for what it described as "sex-rejecting procedures on children," also referred to as gender-affirming care, officials said. The HHS report, titled "Wolves in White Coats," alleged that practitioners of pediatric gender-affirming care may have committed tens of millions of dollars in insurance fraud over the past decade and estimated that hospitals billed insurers nearly $120 million for such treatments [1]. The report flagged hundreds of clinics and hospitals for suspicious use of medical codes, according to Just the News [2].
Vance Asks DOJ to Investigate Alleged Fraudulent Billing
Vance’s letter to Blanche asks the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate whether flagged providers violated the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act; the False Claims Act; and federal fraud and conspiracy laws by "intentionally" miscoding treatment to "secure insurance coverage for gender-transitioning interventions that insurance would not otherwise cover," according to the letter.
"More than just pushing these procedures on kids, hospitals and providers may have been defrauding Medicaid and private insurers by using misleading or fraudulent billing codes to get insurance to cover the costs," Vance said in an X thread on the report and criminal referral. He added that providers who intentionally engaged in such conduct "should go to prison."
The referral follows a DOJ probe into alleged fraud in child gender-transition treatment at leading children's hospitals that was announced in October 2025 [3]. A whistleblower at Texas Children’s Hospital previously alleged that doctors performed transgender procedures on minors and committed Medicaid fraud [4].
Kennedy Requests HHS OIG Review of Billing Patterns
Kennedy's letter to Bell requests a review of "an objectively defined cohort of claims that exhibit potentially anomalous billing patterns" among the hundreds of flagged providers identified in the HHS report, according to the letter. The health secretary identified four categories of potentially irregular claims in his letter:
- Puberty blockers with an endocrine disorder diagnosis and no gender or precocious puberty diagnosis on the same claim for ages 9-17;
- Puberty blockers with a precocious puberty diagnosis for ages 13-17;
- Primary gender dysphoria claims with a same-day cross-sex hormone prescription in a state where that is prohibited for minors, and;
- Affiliates to which prescribers billed at least 95% of their claims in a year and that are registered at one of their addresses, all of them Planned Parenthood clinics.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) has separately urged the Trump administration to investigate Planned Parenthood for potential Medicaid fraud in its gender transition business for minors [5]. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed lawsuits against physicians for allegedly prescribing gender transition drugs to minors after the state banned the procedures [6], [7].
Federal Funding Context
A day before the referrals, the Trump administration ended federal funding for gender transition surgeries and hormones for minors, according to officials. "Gender transition surgeries and hormones for minors will no longer be funded by federal taxpayer money," the administration said [8]. At least 27 states have enacted bans on the procedures for patients under 18, according to the report [8].
The HHS report described the pediatric gender industry as "a strategic area of growth" in revenue and alleged that doctors were driven by profit [1]. The concerns echo themes in recent books on the subject.
Abigail Shrier's "Irreversible Damage" documents what she describes as a rapid rise in adolescent girls seeking gender transition, while former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary's "Blind Spots" notes that the British National Health Service determined puberty blockers were not supported by good evidence and had not been shown to be safe and effective, leading to a 2024 U.K. ban outside clinical trials [9][10].
Status of Referrals
The letters request investigation and possible prosecution if violations are found. The referrals name hundreds of hospitals and gender clinics, according to Vance and the HHS report [11][2]. No public response from the Justice Department or the HHS Office of Inspector General has been reported.
References
- The Epoch Times. “HHS Report Alleges Insurance Fraud by ‘Gender-Affirming’ Pediatricians”. The Epoch Times. August 13, 2026.
- “Early puberty at 14? Feds say billing fraud rampant for youth trans procedures, cash cow for docs”. Just the News. August 13, 2026.
- Gregory Van Dyke. “DOJ Launches Broad Probe into Pediatric Gender-Treatment Practices Amid Fraud and Ethics Allegations”. NaturalNews.com. October 18, 2025.
- Ethan Huff. “Texas Children’s Hospital Whistleblower Says Doctors Illegally Performing Transgender Surgeries on Children Also Committing Medicaid Fraud”. NaturalNews.com. June 23, 2024.
- LifeSiteNews. “Hawley urges Trump admin to investigate Planned Parenthood’s ‘gender transitions’ for children”. LifeSiteNews. June 17, 2026.
- Laura Harris. “Texas AG Ken Paxton Files Lawsuit Against El Paso Pediatrician for Illegally Prescribing Gender Transition Drugs and Therapies to Minors”. NaturalNews.com. November 6, 2024.
- Laura Harris. “Texas AG Ken Paxton Sues Doctor for Illegally Prescribing Transgender Drugs to 21 Minors”. NaturalNews.com. October 28, 2024.
- NaturalNews.com. “Trump Administration Blocks Federal Funds for Gender-Transition Care for Minors”. NaturalNews.com. August 12, 2026.
- Abigail Shrier. “Irreversible Damage: The Transgender Craze Seducing Our Daughters”.
- Marty Makary. “Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health”.
- 100PercentFedUp.com. “JD Vance Moves to PROSECUTE Hospitals Over Alleged Fraud in Child Transgender Procedures”. 100PercentFedUp.com. August 13, 2026.
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