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One of the Texas Children’s Hospital buildings is shown in the Texas Medical Center Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021 in Houston.<\/p>\n
Melissa Phillip, Houston Chronicle \/ Staff photographer<\/p>\n
Texas Children\u2019s Hospital has three months to create the nation\u2019s first clinic designed to reverse gender transition care, and must provide that care for free, according to the newly released terms of a settlement with Attorney General Ken Paxton<\/a>.<\/p>\n The terms, which were released Wednesday, detail several measures the hospital system<\/a> will have to take after being investigated for three years by both the state and the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations that they illegally provided\u00a0transgender care to children<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis historic settlement is a resounding defeat for the radical gender ideology that has preyed on Texas children under the guise of \u2018care,\u2019\u201d Paxton said in a statement. \u201cTexas Children\u2019s 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.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n READ MORE: Paxton argues trans Texans shouldn’t be allowed to change sex on licenses even with court orders<\/a><\/p>\n The settlement requires the hospital to advertise the \u201cdetransition clinic\u201d on its website, and for the first five years, provide free care to any patient who has previously received transgender care, regardless of age, including hormone therapy and surgery.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The hospital must also bar five doctors associated with the hospital from working with the medical system. And the hospital has to release a statement saying it did provide gender transition care, and permanently delete a previous statement that denied<\/a> any wrongdoing and said the system would only settle \u201cto protect our resources from endless and costly litigation.\u201d<\/p>\n Gender transition care for transgender children is now illegal in Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n But Paxton first announced an investigation into the system before that, in 2023, after a doctor claimed the hospital was illegally providing such care. The probe into the hospital was then expanded in 2024 after a nurse alleged the hospital was obscuring its care for transgender youth by intentionally miscoding patients\u2019 treatments in order to receive Medicaid payments.<\/p>\n In addition to paying the state $9 million, TCH will have to pay the legal fees of the nurse, Vanessa Sivadge. She will also receive nearly $2 million out of the state\u2019s settlement for being a whistleblower.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a statement, the hospital said its focus is health.<\/p>\n \u201cLast week we finalized a settlement agreement with the Texas Attorney General and the U.S. Department of Justice bringing a close to this chapter to focus our resources on life-saving care and discoveries,\u201d Texas Children\u2019s said. \u201cOur focus remains on creating a healthier future for children and women across Texas and the world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Texas is one of 27 states that have passed laws limiting transgender care for minors, despite pushback from major medical associations, which generally endorse the practice that supports people whose gender identity doesn\u2019t align with the sex they were assigned at birth.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Treatment can include behavioral or medical interventions such as puberty blockers, hormones or surgery. Surgeries are rarely performed on transgender youth.\u00a0<\/p>\n In recent years, the GOP has taken up the issue, and Paxton has mentioned the issue frequently in his bid for U.S. Senate. He has sought to tie his Democratic opponent, James Talarico, to support for gender transition care for minors.\u00a0<\/p>\n