Texas Children’s Statement on Gender Care

For the past year, Texas Children’s has been the target of false reports that have been presented as fact. In recent weeks, the inaccurate reports have both escalated in frequency, and become more malicious in tone. The continued dissemination of these lies and false accusations are reprehensible. 

Texas Children’s has only ever provided care that aligned with national clinical benchmarks, best practices and state and federal law. As of September 1, 2023, and in full compliance with Texas law, Texas Children's stopped prescribing medications for gender dysphoria to pediatric patients.  Prior to that, Texas Children’s acknowledged a brief pause in care following Attorney General Paxton’s opinion on gender affirming care in February 2022. We resumed care a few days later after confirming that we were already in full compliance with existing laws.  

To be clear: Texas Children's physicians have not engaged in any unauthorized gender affirming care treatments or procedures. 

False reports have relied on erroneous allegations of a former nurse and misinterpretations of records inappropriately accessed and shared by a former Baylor College of Medicine surgical resident. The records of patients who were not under their care included information related to hormone implants, a treatment requiring a minor procedure. Some have used this to try to lead people to believe that our physicians have performed far more invasive procedures.  This is false. 

Lastly, there have also been allegations of Medicaid fraud that Texas Children’s categorically refutes. Texas Children’s follows all Medicaid regulations in our billing and collections practices. We have compliance systems in place that are specifically designed to ensure payment integrity and we maintain our commitment to always providing care within the bounds of the law and ethical medical practices. Our full statement on the matter can be found here.  

For over 70 years, Texas Children’s commitment to providing the highest quality care for children and women has been unwavering. This has been the foundation on which our exemplary world-class reputation for lifesaving pediatric care has been built – both nationally and across more than 120 locations in Texas. We remain steadfast in our dedication to upholding all ethical standards and will proudly continue our mission of serving the community and prioritizing the health and safety of all the patients, faculty and staff who come through our doors.