Cleveland Clinic agrees to stop sex-rejecting procedures for minors, pays penalties and funds care for detransitioners.

The Justice Department announced a resolution with Cleveland Clinic that ends the provision of sex-rejecting procedures to minors and requires long-term commitments from the health system. Under the agreement, Cleveland Clinic will not perform or offer puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones to patients under 18, and it accepted both financial penalties and obligations to fund care for those harmed. This follows a national DOJ review into federal law violations tied to treatments for minors.

The settlement, reached with the Department of Justice and coordinated with Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, includes a payment of $308,000 to resolve allegations about false billings submitted to public and private payors. The clinic also pledged a decades-long prohibition on offering these procedures to minors and made a landmark commitment to fund restorative care for people who detransitioned. That funding aims to help those facing long-term medical and psychological consequences after interventions received as children or adolescents.

As part of the resolution, Cleveland Clinic committed $2 million to provide restorative care for detransitioners regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. The agreement frames that pledge as a practical step toward addressing harms that some patients now face after undergoing medical interventions in youth. The money is meant to cover essential medical care and support services, signaling a shift toward remediation alongside enforcement.

“The Department of Justice is steadfastly committed to protecting America’s children,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward. “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.”

The Cleveland Clinic also agreed to cooperate in resolving allegations that it sought insurance coverage for sex-rejecting procedures on minors through improper billing practices. In return for its cooperation and steps taken during the investigation, the United States acknowledged that the organization merited credit for its proactive stance. At the same time, Cleveland Clinic has denied all allegations, and the settlements resolve claims that remain allegations only without a finding of liability.

https://x.com/DOJCivil/status/2063064702284939672

This announcement came weeks after a separate DOJ resolution with Texas Children’s Hospital, which included a $10 million penalty and the creation of a clinic focused on treating detransitioners. That earlier settlement likewise required Texas Children’s to stop providing sex-rejecting procedures to minors and to fund a first-of-its-kind detransitioner clinic. These parallel outcomes show a pattern of the government pairing enforcement with funding for those harmed.

Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate emphasized the importance of institutions choosing to help victims rather than enable harm, saying, “I am grateful that institutions like Cleveland Clinic and Texas Children’s have decided to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.” “Cleveland Clinic’s commitment to providing millions of dollars towards care for detransitioners is emblematic of just that. I am grateful for this resolution with Cleveland Clinic, but our work is far from over, and our division will continue to work tirelessly to protect America’s children and hold accountable those that have preyed on vulnerable children, whether they be pharmaceutical companies or medical providers.”

The investigations were led by the Justice Department’s Civil Division Enforcement and Affirmative Litigation Branch and the Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section. Officials framed these efforts as part of a broader push to enforce federal law where minors might be placed at risk by certain medical practices. The federal approach has combined civil enforcement with requirements that providers help remediate harms suffered by former patients.

For conservatives and parents worried about medical interventions for children, these settlements represent both accountability and a policy shift toward prioritizing remediation for victims. The Cleveland Clinic’s monetary settlement and multi-year ban on offering sex-rejecting procedures to minors reflect a tougher stance from federal and state authorities. While legal claims in the settlements remain allegations, the commitments to fund care for detransitioners and to stop these practices carry concrete consequences for providers going forward.