Healthcare
Vanderbilt University ‘pausing gender affirmation surgeries’ for minors following leaked video
Vanderbilt University Medical Center [VUMC] is putting a halt on all ‘gender affirmation surgery’ on underage patients pending a review sparked by a leaked video.
Last month conservative activist Matt Walsh released a video from 2018 in which Dr Shayne Taylor – an LGBTQ specialist at the hospital – brags that transgender surgeries are ‘huge money makers’ for the hospital.
Dr. Taylor says in the video how the hospital was driven to perform such procedures because of its money-making potential:
“Some of our VUMC financial folks in October of 2016 put down some costs of how much money we think each patient would bring in” said Taylor. “And this is only including top surgery, this isn’t including any bottom surgery, and it’s a lot of money.”
Walsh’s report into VUMC’s trans program also found the hospital “drugs, chemically castrates and performs double mastectomies on minors.”
In another video, a University staff member states the hospital “has given irreversible hormone drugs to children as young as 13.”
As a result of the circulating videos and report, a Tennessee lawmaker called to investigate the hospital after the gender altering surgeries the hospital were said to ‘chemically castrate’ minors for financial gain.
Saving face, VUMC announced it would be halting the transgender surgeries, but claimed it was doing so only pending review of ‘new recommendations’ from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health [WPATH].
“On September 6, 2022, WPATH [World Professional Association for Transgender Health] published a new version of its recommendations to health care professionals for treatment of transgender persons, known as SOC-8,” the hospital wrote in a statement to lawmakers.
“In light of these new recommendations, and as part of completing our internal clinical review of SOC-8 guidance in patients under 18, we will be seeking advice from local and national clinical experts…
…We are pausing gender affirmation surgeries on patients under age 18 while we complete this review, which may take several months.”
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a longtime supporter of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, is now acknowledging the unintended consequences of the healthcare legislation, particularly its impact on industry consolidation and rising healthcare prices.
Warren, who has been a vocal proponent of Obamacare, has recently had what the Wall Street Journal reported as an “epiphany” regarding the consequences of the healthcare law. In a letter addressed to the Health and Human Services Department inspector general, Warren, along with Senator Mike Braun of Indiana, expressed concerns about vertically-integrated healthcare companies potentially increasing prescription drug costs and evading federal regulations.
According to reports from Fox News, the bipartisan letter highlighted issues with the nation’s largest health insurers allegedly bypassing Obamacare’s medical loss ratio (MLR). According to Warren, these insurers, through vertical integration, have manipulated the system, leading to “sky-high prescription drug costs and excessive corporate profits.”
The senators detailed how conglomerates, like UnitedHealth Group, with ownership across various healthcare sectors, could inflate medical payments to pharmacies and, by realizing those payments on the pharmacy side, appear to comply with MLR requirements while retaining more profits.
Moreover, despite the Democrats’ argument that the MLR would benefit patients, it has incentivized insurers to merge with or acquire pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), retail and specialty pharmacies, and healthcare providers. This, in turn, has made healthcare spending less transparent, as insurers can allegedly shift profits to their affiliates by increasing reimbursements.
Warren, who has consistently voted against Obamacare repeal efforts, notably advocated for a “Medicare for All” proposal during her 2020 presidential campaign. Despite her prior support for the healthcare law, Warren’s recent concerns about its unintended consequences have raised questions about the long-term effects of Obamacare and its impact on the healthcare industry.
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