Staff Reports
The Tennessee Attorney General's office is currently investigating Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) for potential medical billing fraud. As part of this ongoing inquiry, VUMC has provided the Attorney General's office with the medical records of their transgender patients. The state specifically requested records spanning from January 1, 2018, until the present day, in order to gather information about the "transgender care" practices at VUMC.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center Turns Over Transgender Patient Records to Tennessee AG https://t.co/pq6iRDMGsB
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) June 21, 2023
VUMC has released a statement reassuring their patients that their records will remain confidential, as mandated by Tennessee law. However, the Tennessee Equality Project, an LGBTQ+ rights advocacy group, has expressed concerns that their patients and their families have become anxious due to the investigation.
Vanderbilt opened its trans clinic in 2018. During a lecture the same year, Dr. Shayne Taylor explained how she convinced Nashville to get into the gender transition game. She emphasized that it's a "big money maker," especially because the surgeries require a lot of "follow ups" pic.twitter.com/zedM7HBCBe
— The Honorable Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) September 20, 2022
According to Brandon Smith, the Chief of Staff for the Attorney General, it is surprising that VUMC has chosen to alarm its patients in such a deliberate manner. He emphasized that the investigation solely targets VUMC and certain associated providers, and not the patients themselves, as VUMC is well aware.
Last year, VUMC garnered media attention for providing transgender care to minors. Conservative commentator Matt Walsh, on Twitter, alleged that VUMC introduced these services for children as a means of making substantial profits. After Walsh's Twitter thread gained significant traction and drew the attention of lawmakers, VUMC issued a statement refuting his claims, stating that his reporting "misrepresented" facts about the clinic. However, Walsh's Twitter thread cited information directly from the clinic's webpage and lectures by its physicians, which were publicly available online.
In response to the investigation, VUMC has removed web pages related to "gender-affirming" care and has temporarily suspended all permanent transgender procedures involving minors. It is crucial to halt these transgender medical procedures that exploit vulnerable minors and their parents for financial gain.
