A $10 million settlement between the state of Texas and Texas Children’s Hospital is set to create the nation's first clinic designed toreverse gender-transition care, with the clinic required to open by the end of October.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced on Wednesday, Aug. 5, new details of the executed settlement terms
with the Houston-based hospital, which has three months to open a clinic offering free medical care to people who want reverse sex reassignment operations and procedures."This historic settlement is a resounding defeat for the radical gender ideology that has preyed on Texas children under the guise of ‘care,’"Paxton said in a statement. "Texas Children’s has agreed to pay millions back to Texas. The detransition
clinic, which is the first of its kind, must open within months. Activist doctors who harmed children have been fired."
Paxton's office first announced the $10 million agreement in May, resolving allegations that the hospital illegally billed insurance companies for gender-affirming care for minors. The hospital denied wrongdoing.
The settlement stems from a yearslong investigation in coordination with the U.S. Department of Justice into the nation's largest pediatric hospital.USA TODAY reached out to Texas Children’s Hospital for comment but has not responded. However, the hospital said in May that it has been "compliant with all laws" and made the "difficult decision" to settle the case, which was "wrought with falsehoods and distractions."
Here's a look at what the settlement requires of Texas Children's Hospital.
What the settlement requires
According to the attorney general's office, under the agreement, Texas Children’s Hospital must comply with the settlement and create the detransition clinic.
- Pay $10 million to resolve claims brought under the Texas Health Care Program Fraud Prevention Act and the federal False Claims Act for billing Texas Medicaid for unallowable and illegal gender-transition care.
- More than $8.5 million will be going to the state of Texas.
- Fire and revoke the privileges of five doctors who provided these gender-transition procedures to minors.
- Agree not to provide gender-transition services and will implement a host of compliance and ethics measures.
- Amend its bylaws to trigger automatic relinquishment of privileges for any physician who violates Texas’ ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
What services will Texas' detransitioning clinic offer?
New details from the settlement show that the detransitioning clinic will offer the following services free of charge for the first five years and must do the following:
- The clinic will provide reverse gender-transition care to patients up to 21 years old who have received gender affirming care.
- The clinic will also provide reverse gender-transition obstetrician and gynecology medical care to patients above the age of 21 who have received gender affirming care.
- The clinic will provide multidisciplinary services, not limited to endocrinology, surgery, primary care, fertility counseling, psychiatry, psychotherapy, social work/case management and speech pathology.
- The hospital will create and maintain an easily accessible landing page on the Texas Children's Hospital website describing the detransition clinic’s services.
- The hospital will list the clinic as a specific gift designation on the Texas Children's Hospital giving webpage.
- The hospital will fund donations to Texas Children's Hospital designated for the clinic to provide free detransition services beyond the initial five services.
Mateo Rosiles is the Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and its regional papers in Texas. Got a news tip for him? Email him at mrosiles@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Paxton details Texas Children's detransition clinic services in new settlement
