By Daniel Wiessner
May 15 (Reuters) - The largest children's hospital in the United States will create the country's first "detransition clinic" to undo gender-affirming treatments for transgender youth and fire five doctors who performed the procedures to settle an investigation by the state, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said on Friday.
Paxton, a Republican, said in a release that Texas Children's Hospital in Houston would also pay $10 million for allegedly billing the state's Medicaid program
for gender-affirming treatment prohibited by state law.
Paxton's office said the settlement was the result of a years-long investigation into the 1,000-bed hospital's practices, including allegedly using false billing codes when seeking Medicaid reimbursements, and that the settlement was coordinated with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Texas Children's in a statement said it has been compliant with all laws. The hospital said it was settling the investigation "to protect our resources from endless and costly litigation" and 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.
Reuters could not immediately obtain a copy of the settlement agreement.
The agreement is a significant victory for opponents of gender-affirming treatment for minors, including President Donald Trump's administration. 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.
Under the terms of the settlement announced on Friday, Texas Children's will establish the first-ever multidisciplinary clinic designed to reverse the effects of gender transition procedures, Paxton's office said. For the first five years, the hospital will provide those services free of charge to patients.
The unidentified doctors who will be fired under the settlement "performed harmful interventions on Texans," Paxton's office said. The hospital agreed to permanently terminate the doctors' privileges and never again hire or credential them.
Texas Children's will also amend its bylaws to trigger automatic relinquishment of privileges for any doctor who violates the state's ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
Separately, Paxton's office in February sued the operator of a 400-bed children's hospital in Fort Worth, Texas, for allegedly performing "gender interventions" on children as young as 9 years old. The lawsuit also names a gynecologist at the hospital for allegedly performing procedures banned by state law on 19 patients. That hospital has denied wrongdoing.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot)
