NYU Langone Hospitals and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center have agreed to stop providing gender-related medical treatments to minors under settlements announced by the Justice Department on Friday, resolving federal investigations into the hospitals’ practices.
As part of the agreements, NYU will pay $8.5 million and UPMC will pay $950,000. The settlements require both systems to halt the administration of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and related surgical procedures for patients under 18.
The Justice Department said the investigations examined potential violations of federal law connected to how the hospitals billed for and provided these treatments, sometimes described as “gender-affirming care.”
Attorney General Todd Blanche said the settlements were meant to send a message to other providers.
“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,” Blanche said. “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 department said NYU and UPMC cooperated with investigators, including in ongoing federal inquiries into other health systems that may be providing similar treatments to minors.
Part of a broader pattern
The NYU and UPMC agreements follow earlier settlements with Mount Sinai Health System in New York, Texas Children’s Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Connecticut Children’s Hospital.
Blanche also posted about the settlements on his official X account, saying that more than 40 hospital systems nationwide have ended the procedures since January 20, 2025, including six of the largest systems as a result of Justice Department lawsuits.
“Hospitals that target children in these practices and then fraudulently obtain payments for the procedures, will be held accountable,” Blanche wrote.
The Trump administration has made curbing these treatments for minors a stated priority, arguing that children cannot give fully informed consent to irreversible medical interventions. The settlements mark the latest in a series of federal actions targeting major hospital systems across the country over pediatric gender treatment practices.
