Cleveland-based Cleveland Clinic has agreed to pay $308,000 and commit $2 million toward care for patients seeking detransition-related services as part of agreements with the Justice Department and the Ohio attorney general’s office that include a decades-long commitment to stop providing gender-affirming medical treatments to minors.
The agreements, announced June 5 in a Justice Department news release, resolve allegations that Cleveland Clinic submitted false billings to public and private payers to secure insurance coverage for gender-affirming procedures performed on minors. Cleveland Clinic denied all allegations, and the Justice Department acknowledged the health system’s cooperation throughout the investigation. The settlement does not include a determination of liability.
“The Department of Justice is steadfastly committed to protecting America’s children,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in the June 5 announcement. “Just as the resolution with Texas Children’s, today’s resolution with Cleveland Clinic furthers that commitment and puts these providers on notice that this Department will vigorously enforce federal law where children are put at risk.”
“We are pleased to have worked collaboratively toward a resolution related to an unintentional coding issue involving a small number of patients,” Cleveland Clinic said in a statement shared with Becker’s. “We remain focused on providing exceptional care to our patients and communities. We have complied and will continue to comply with all federal and state laws.”
The agreements with Cleveland Clinic come about a month after Houston-based Texas Children’s Hospital agreed to pay more than $10 million and establish a clinic focused on care for patients seeking to detransition after receiving gender-related medical treatment as part of settlements with the Texas attorney general and the Justice Department.
Both settlements come amid the Justice Department’s ongoing investigations into alleged violations of federal law related to gender-affirming care for minors.
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