NYU And UPMC Agree To Pay Millions, Halt Youth Gender-Related Care Under Federal Deals
Two of the country’s largest health networks have reached agreements with the Department of Justice to halt gender-related medical treatments for minors and pay financial settlements totaling more than $9 million, federal officials announced.
Under the terms announced by the DOJ, New York University Langone Hospitals will pay $8.5 million, while the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center will pay $950,000. Both hospital systems agreed to stop providing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgical procedures to underage patients.
The resolutions settle federal inquiries into potential violations of federal statutes, including the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, the False Claims Act, and other healthcare regulations. Investigators have focused on allegations of fraudulent billing practices, such as the use of false diagnosis codes to secure reimbursement from private insurers and federally funded healthcare programs.
“The Department of Justice is fighting to protect our nation’s children and working tirelessly to reach agreements with hospitals to end so-called ‘gender affirming care’ for minors,” Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement. “Today’s resolutions send a clear message: hospitals that target children in these practices and then fraudulently obtain payment for the procedures will be held to account.”
The deals follow a 2025 directive from President Donald Trump instructing the Justice Department to prioritize investigations into medical providers administering transition-related care to children. Federal agencies involved in the coordinated inquiry include the DOJ Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations.
Hospital Hallway. Source: Unsplash
Federal officials credited both NYU and UPMC for cooperating with the inquiry and assisting with ongoing investigations into other healthcare entities.
“We appreciate that some of the nation’s largest and most prestigious hospital systems have agreed to cease harming minors under the guise of ‘gender-affirming care’ and agreed to pay for potential violations of federal law when they did so,” said Brett Shumate, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. “But I want to be clear: our efforts and investigations into other providers are ongoing. Those that have broken the law and not resolved their potential liability will be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.”
Ryan Raybould, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas, noted that his office remains actively engaged in similar probes across the healthcare sector.
“My office’s foremost priority is protecting children. The resolutions announced today reflect the close collaboration across the Department of Justice and our continued commitment to ensuring that minors are safeguarded,” Raybould said. “These investigations are ongoing, and my office will continue to follow the evidence, act decisively when the well-being of minors is at stake, and fully pursue wrongdoers who have broken federal law.”
The actions mark the latest in a series of similar federal agreements, coming after prior settlements involving Mount Sinai Health System in New York, Texas Children’s Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Connecticut Children’s Hospital. Justice Department officials indicated that enforcement branches will continue reviewing child gender-transition services nationwide.