Vance seeks DOJ probe into hospitals’ minor gender-care billing practices

Vice President JD Vance has urged the Justice Department to investigate hospitals he says may have fraudulently billed insurers for gender-affirming care for minors, citing an HHS report that alleges upcoding and misused diagnostic codes to boost payments. The move follows CMS cutting Medicaid funding for such care and comes amid broader political clashes over gender-affirming treatments, with major medical groups disputing the claims. The report also notes more than 30 facilities billed puberty-blocking drugs under non-specific endocrine-disorder codes, totaling nearly $50 million, raising questions about whether these were fraudulent practices or coding mistakes.