{"id":452,"date":"2026-08-18T04:18:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T04:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/capitolpulsed.com\/?p=452"},"modified":"2026-08-18T04:18:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T04:18:20","slug":"vance-refers-new-potential-fraud-findings-to-doj-for-prosecution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capitolpulsed.com\/?p=452","title":{"rendered":"Vance Refers New Potential Fraud Findings To DOJ For Prosecution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vice President JD Vance has taken a significant new step following the release of a federal investigation, putting the findings directly in the hands of the nation\u2019s top law enforcement officials.<\/em>\u00a0The vice president says that if investigators determine certain conduct outlined in the report was intentional, those responsible shouldn\u2019t merely face professional consequences. Vance referred findings from a new Department of Health and Human Services report examining pediatric gender medicine and insurance billing practices to Attorney General Todd Blanche and the Department of Justice for review of potential violations of federal law. The HHS report, titled \u201cWolves in White Coats: How Doctors and Hospitals Pushed and Profited from the Fraud of \u2018Gender Medicine,’\u201d examines insurance coding associated with treatments including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones provided to minors.<\/p>\n

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According to HHS, more than 225 hospitals and health systems established pediatric gender programs across the United States. Nationwide insurance claims data covering 2015 through 2025 identified approximately $50 million in claims for puberty-blocking drugs billed using the diagnostic code for \u201cendocrine disorder, unspecified,\u201d according to the report. HHS also identified nearly $11 million in claims involving patients between 13 and 17 years old that were billed using a precocious puberty diagnosis code. The report says precocious puberty diagnoses would typically be inappropriate for patients older than 13.<\/p>\n

Insurance Claims Data Reveals Billing Patterns<\/h2>\n

All-payer claims data cited by HHS additionally showed nearly $120 million in billed charges since 2019 for related procedures involving minors, including more than 5,500 surgical procedures and approximately 8,500 courses of hormones or puberty blockers. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has separately referred a defined group of claims displaying what the department described as potentially anomalous billing patterns to the HHS Inspector General. Those claims include puberty blockers paired with an unspecified endocrine disorder diagnosis without accompanying gender dysphoria or precocious puberty codes for patients between 9 and 17 years old. The referral also covers claims using precocious puberty codes for patients ages 13 through 17 and certain same-day cross-sex hormone prescriptions accompanied by a primary gender dysphoria diagnosis in states restricting those treatments for minors.<\/p>\n

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Vance highlighted some of the report\u2019s findings in his letter to Blanche. \u201cOne study showed that only about 4.7 percent of patients diagnosed with \u2018endocrine disorder, unspecified,\u2019 had that actual condition,\u201d Vance wrote. \u201cAnother notes a 30 percent increase in the number of endocrine disorder diagnoses, despite it being unlikely that there has been a substantial increase in pediatric endocrine disorders,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

Vance Calls for Accountability and Prison Time<\/h2>\n

\u201cWhen providers miscode treatment in order to secure insurance coverage for gender-transitioning interventions that insurance would not otherwise cover, they should be held accountable,\u201d Vance wrote. \u201cIf they have done so intentionally, thereby perpetrating a fraud on Medicaid or on private insurers, they should go to prison,\u201d the vice president added. The report also examined the financial costs associated with the treatments, arguing that the potential revenue involved creates incentives warranting further scrutiny. HHS said average annual healthcare costs for a minor are approximately $3,000, while treatment pathways involving the interventions examined by the department could reach approximately $75,000 without surgery and nearly $170,000 when surgery is included.<\/p>\n

\u201cRather than allow the proliferation of harmful, sex-rejecting procedures on our children, we must send a clear message that any hospitals and providers that have participated in these practices will face justice,\u201d Vance wrote. The referral follows the Trump administration\u2019s decision to end federal Medicaid and Children\u2019s Health Insurance Program funding for sex-rejecting procedures involving minors. The Justice Department has not publicly announced whether it will open criminal investigations or pursue prosecutions based on Vance\u2019s referral. For now, Vance has placed the matter before Blanche and the Justice Department with an unmistakable recommendation if investigators find evidence of intentional fraud.<\/p>\n

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Vice President JD Vance has taken a significant new step following the release of a federal investigation, putting the findings directly in the hands of the nation\u2019s top law enforcement officials.\u00a0The vice president says that if investigators determine certain conduct outlined in the report was intentional, those responsible shouldn\u2019t merely face professional consequences. Vance referred […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":453,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-politic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitolpulsed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitolpulsed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitolpulsed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitolpulsed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitolpulsed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=452"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/capitolpulsed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":454,"href":"https:\/\/capitolpulsed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/452\/revisions\/454"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitolpulsed.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/453"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capitolpulsed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=452"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitolpulsed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=452"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capitolpulsed.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=452"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}