JD Vance urges DOJ to prosecute alleged fraud in teen gender-transition care

Vice President JD Vance has written to Attorney General Todd Blanche asking the Justice Department to investigate a HHS report that claims hospitals billed over $60 million for gender-transition procedures on minors.

A new Health and Human Services report called “Wolves in White Coats” accuses a network of hospitals and providers of filing more than $60 million in insurance claims for gender-transition treatments on minors from 2015 through 2025. The analysis says many children with hormonal or endocrine issues were steered toward puberty blockers and other procedures, often billed under codes that insurers would not normally cover.

Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche demanding that the Department of Justice pursue criminal charges against any providers who intentionally misrepresented diagnoses to obtain payment. Vance points to data indicating that only about 4.7 percent of patients labeled with unspecified endocrine disorders actually had that condition, and highlights a 30 percent rise in such diagnoses despite no corresponding medical trend.

The report estimates that typical pediatric care costs around $3,000, while gender-affirming treatment can climb to $75,000 without surgery and $170,000 with surgery, creating long-term revenue streams for providers. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. also sent a list of hospitals and clinicians with “potentially anomalous billing patterns” to the agency’s inspector general. The Justice Department has not yet replied to inquiries about the request.