Pennsylvania Taxpayers Have Paid $16 Million For Childhood Sex Reassignment Treatments

Your tax dollars at work.

Switching genders is expensive. But low-income children in Pennsylvania are covered under medical assistance through the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Pennsylvania taxpayers have unknowingly paid more than $16 million under Democrat Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration to fund sex reassignment and gender transition services for children.

Each year since 2015, when Wolf took office, state spending on childhood sex change treatments has increased, data obtained by the Pennsylvania Family Institute shows.

In 2015, Pennsylvania paid $78,000 for services related to sex reassignment for children under 18. In 2021, the state spent $3.9 million.
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Taxpayer Funded Treatments

The data includes basic codes and descriptions for each treatment, but it’s unclear how many treatments were used for each patient, so the total number of minors who received the medications and procedures is unknown.

Treatments listed in the data include androgenic agents, which are used in the transition from female to male; and estrogenic agents, which are feminizing hormones powerful enough to cause a male to develop breasts.

Some girls were given Yuvafem, a vaginal insert tablet used to reduce symptoms of menopause, and Estring, another menopause insert in the form of a flexible ring that continuously releases estrogen. The Estring safety indications include a warning that using the product may increase the chance of developing dementia, and that estrogens should be used at the lowest dose possible and only for as long as needed.

Many treatments are hormones in the form of gels, creams, patches, and pills normally used for women in menopause and post-menopause. Others are testosterone replacements, normally used in men who don’t make enough on their own.

All are being prescribed for off-label use.

“Since no drugs are specifically for sex reassignment or transition related services, pharmacy claims were only included where the recipient had a previous gender identity disorder diagnosis or personal history of sex reassignment diagnosis within the specified service dates,” the PA DHS said in a note included in the answer to the Right to Know request. “Data is limited to recipients aged 18 and younger.”

The data is from Jan. 1, 2015, to Oct. 21, 2022.

Homeless Kids Get Gender Treatment

During a Pennsylvania House Health Committee hearing, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s (CHOP) gender clinic co-founder Nadia Dowshen testified that her clinic receives referrals from foster care and homeless shelters.

“We’re really getting referrals from a variety of resources,” Dowshen testified. “We’re getting a lot more referrals from institutions and other youth serving professionals working with youth in other capacities, sometimes from within the foster care system, or the mental health system, or through homeless shelters for youth who are in need of support.”

In another presentation, Dowshen praised Dr. Rachel Levine, calling the former Pennsylvania secretary of health “a wonderful advocate … doing amazing work to make sure young people have coverage of these medications.”