Diana Harshbarger
08/14/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 08/14/2026 13:12
Harshbarger Applauds Recent HHS Crackdown on Sex-Rejecting Procedures for Children
Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger (R-TN) released the following statement praising a series of recent actions by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to protect children from sex-rejecting procedures, including a report exposing fraudulent billing practices that led to referrals of hospitals and clinics to the Department of Justice (DOJ) and HHS Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and a new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) rule ending federal Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) funding for these procedures.
"Families trust physicians with their children's care, and this week's revelations show that trust was betrayed in the worst possible way. HHS's report exposes an industry that turned vulnerable, healthy children into a cash cow business, using fraudulent diagnosis codes to bill nearly $120 million while inflicting permanent damage on children who deserved protection, not to be used for profit," said Congresswoman Diana Harshbarger. "Every child is a precious gift from God, made exactly as He intended, and no doctor, no hospital, and no insurance company has the right to convince a child otherwise in order to add to their bottom line. I am grateful CMS is finally cutting off every taxpayer dollar that funded this abuse, and I will not rest until Congress passes my STOP Act and TRUTH in Coverage Act so this industry can never prey on another child again."
BACKGROUND:
HHS Report on Fraudulent Billing Practices
A new HHS report titled "Wolves in White Coats: How Doctors and Hospitals Pushed and Profited from the Fraud of 'Gender Medicine'" found that financial incentives drove hospitals nationwide to treat physiologically healthy children as "captive patients," billing nearly $120 million for sex-rejecting procedures on minors since 2019 and covering more than 5,500 surgeries and 8,500 courses of hormones or puberty blockers.
The report identified nearly $50 million in insurance claims for puberty blockers billed using vague or inaccurate endocrine disorder diagnosis codes instead of an accurate diagnosis, and nearly $11 million in claims for patients ages 13-17 billed under a precocious puberty diagnosis that does not typically apply at that age. In a separate case cited in the report, Texas Children's Hospital previously paid a $10 million settlement with the Texas Attorney General and the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve fraud allegations involving false diagnosis codes used to bill Medicaid for these procedures, agreeing as part of that settlement to establish the nation's first Detransition Clinic to provide free care for patients recovering from these interventions.
The report also found that the Biden administration actively promoted and expanded access to these procedures through executive orders, HHS civil rights guidance, CMS insurance mandates, and federal employee health benefits, pressuring hospitals and insurers to cover them for minors.
Following the report's release, Vice President JD Vance, as chairman of the White House Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. referred hospitals and clinics identified in the report to the DOJ and the HHS-OIG, respectively, for possible violations of federal law.
CMS Rule Ending Medicaid and CHIP Funding
Separately, CMS finalized a rule this week ending federal Medicaid and CHIP funding for sex-rejecting procedures on children and youth. The rule takes effect Oct. 13, 2026, allows a tapering-off period of up to six months for children currently on hormone therapy, and does not affect coverage of mental health services.
Harshbarger's Efforts to Protect Children from Sex-Rejecting Procedures
In April, Harshbarger introduced the Safeguarding the Overall Protection of Minors (STOP) Act alongside Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS). The bill bans gender transition procedures on minors, imposes civil penalties of at least $100,000 per violation collectible by the Attorney General, and creates a private right of action allowing victims or their families to sue for damages in federal court. It also establishes the Victims of Gender Transition Procedures Compensation Fund in the U.S. Treasury to support those recovering from these procedures, funded by civil penalties collected from offenders.
In December 2025, Harshbarger joined HHS Secretary Kennedy, CMS Administrator Dr. Oz, and other senior HHS officials for a press conference announcing federal actions to protect children from sex-rejecting procedures, including a declaration that these interventions do not meet professionally recognized standards of care and proposed CMS rules restricting Medicare and Medicaid coverage of them.
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