Pronoun/Gender Wars Continue Apace

[smac97]

On 8/7/2026 at 12:10 PM, smac97 said:

The Economist (June 2024) : 

Research into trans medicine has been manipulated

A Grok summary:

Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy (January 2023) :

The Myth of “Reliable Research” in Pediatric Gender Medicine: A critical evaluation of the Dutch Studies—and research that has followed

A Grok summary:

Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy (June 2025) :

The Façade of Medical Consensus: How Medical Associations Prioritize Politics Over Science

A Grok summary:

Thanks,

-Smac

Trump administration accuses hospitals of improper billing over gender care for minors

Quote

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services accused dozens of hospitals and healthcare providers on Thursday of improperly billing for gender-affirming care and referred them to the Office of Inspector General and the Justice Department ‌for investigation.

 

HHS released a report titled "Wolves in White Coats" that argued some gender-related treatments were paid for under unspecified conditions or, in some cases, based on diagnoses of early puberty. The report includes contributors who have been critical of gender-affirming care.

 

HHS said the providers billed for the therapies to treat minors aged 9 to 17, documenting an unspecified endocrine ⁠or hormone-related disorder diagnosis rather than gender dysphoria. The report alleged inaccurate diagnoses resulted in payments from both private and government-sponsored health plans.

 

HHS said that as gender care for minors has grown, it has become a larger revenue source for hospitals, creating financial incentives for more frequent billing. Citing conservative medical advocacy organization Do No Harm, the agency said hospitals and clinics billed nearly $120 million for the services provided to minors since 2019.

 

Gender-affirming care for minors can include clinical counseling, puberty blockers or hormone therapy.

 

Advocates for transgender minors say the services can reduce mental ‌distress ⁠and support social wellbeing.

Do No Harm has legally challenged gender-affirming care and diversity, equity, and inclusion programs in healthcare.

 

A spokesperson for the American Hospital Association declined to comment on the report.

 

The Trump administration finalized a rule this week barring two major federal health programs from funding puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgeries ⁠to treat gender dysphoria, which is distress from a mismatch between a patient's sex at birth and gender identity.

 

HHS, based on Do No Harm data, named Mount Sinai Hospital, based in New York City, and Boston ⁠Children's Hospital as some of the top billing providers of the services for minors.

 

"In an era of razor-thin pediatric margins and pressure on hospital reimbursements, this new patient cohort — young, insured ⁠or Medicaid-eligible, and requiring perpetual follow-ups — represented a strategic area of growth," the report said.

 

Mount Sinai did not respond in time to a request for comment. A spokesperson for Boston Children's Hospital said it is reviewing the report.

Here is a link to the report itself.  A Grok summary:

Quote

Summary of the HHS Report: “Wolves in White Coats: How Doctors and Hospitals Pushed and Profited from the Fraud of ‘Gender Medicine’”

This is an official U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report (released around August 13, 2026) examining how hospitals and doctors promoted and financially benefited from “sex-rejecting” medical interventions (puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries) on minors with gender dysphoria.

Core Thesis

The rapid expansion of these interventions on children in the late 2010s and early 2020s was driven by a combination of:

• Strong financial incentives (creating lifelong patients who require ongoing, expensive care),
• Ideological capture of medical institutions and professional societies, and
• Active promotion and facilitation by the Biden Administration.

The report argues these interventions were experimental, lacked adequate evidence of long-term safety or benefit, and in some cases involved questionable or fraudulent billing practices.

Key Chapters / Findings

Chapter 1 – Financial Incentives Hospitals and clinics gained unique, recurring revenue streams. Once a minor begins medical transition, they often require continuous hormone therapy, monitoring, possible surgeries, and treatment for complications—creating “captive patients” for life.

Chapter 2 – Coding and Billing Practices (central focus) The report details how providers allegedly used vague or inaccurate diagnostic codes (especially “Endocrine Disorder, Unspecified” and codes for Central Precocious Puberty) to obtain insurance/Medicaid coverage for interventions that might otherwise have been denied. It cites presentations to WPATH, public statements by industry actors, advocacy-group guidance, and whistleblower accounts suggesting these coding practices were deliberate and widespread. An accompanying claims analysis flagged tens of millions of dollars in suspicious billing.

Chapter 3 – Federal Government Role Documents how the Biden Administration actively promoted access to these procedures, including through funding, guidance, and pressure on institutions.

Chapter 4 – Professional Society Influence Argues that major medical organizations became ideologically biased in favor of affirmative care, shaping hospital protocols and individual clinicians’ approaches.

Chapter 5 – Patient and Parent Accounts Presents first-hand stories from detransitioners and parents (including names such as Sydney Aviles, Lily Burns, Clementine Breen, Layla Jane, and others) describing pressure to pursue medicalization, lack of exploratory therapy, and later regret or harm.

Overall Framing

The report portrays the pediatric gender-medicine apparatus as a system in which financial profit, ideological commitment, and government policy reinforced one another, resulting in irreversible interventions on minors with weak evidence of benefit. It was commissioned under the current (Trump-era) HHS and is presented as part of a broader effort to investigate and reverse these practices.

The document is lengthy, contains an appendix with claims-data analysis, and includes contributions from physicians (including whistleblower Dr. Eithan Haim and endocrinologist Dr. Quentin Van Meter), lawyers, and policy analysts.

Very troubling.

Thanks,

-Smac