{"id":1720374,"date":"2022-11-01T16:18:02","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T20:18:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1720374"},"modified":"2022-11-01T16:18:59","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T20:18:59","slug":"pennsylvania-taxpayers-spent-16-7-million-on-trans-treatments-for-minors-since-2015-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pennsylvania-taxpayers-spent-16-7-million-on-trans-treatments-for-minors-since-2015-report\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania Taxpayers Spent $16.7 Million On Trans Treatments For Minors Since 2015: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fpennsylvania-taxpayers-spent-16-7-million-on-trans-treatments-for-minors-since-2015-report%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1720374&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A new public records request reveals how millions of taxpayer dollars have funded controversial \u201cgender-affirming\u201d medical treatments for trans-identifying minors in Pennsylvania.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/pafamily.org\/about\/\">Pennsylvania Family Institute<\/a>, a non-profit representing family values, filed a right-to-know request with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services to find out exactly how much taxpayer money has been spent on medically transitioning children and adolescents in the state. The request revealed that since 2015 more than $16.7 million in tax dollars have been spent on puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and gender-related surgeries for minors.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen Gov. [Tom] Wolf took office, he unilaterally changed state policy to cover things like double mastectomies to remove healthy breasts from minor girls and irreversible experimental hormones for children,\u201d said Emily Kreps with PA Family Institute. \u201cThe same drugs used to chemically castrate convicted sex offenders are being funded by tax dollars for minors. This type of \u2018care\u2019 is happening right now at major institutions like CHOP, Penn State Health and<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MattWalshBlog\/status\/1560027417456025601\"> UPMC Children\u2019s Hospital of Pittsburgh<\/a>\u2014especially to<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MegBeileen\/status\/1575540861462528001\"> children in foster care<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2015, Democrat Governor Tom Wolf took office, nominating Dr. Rachel Levine, a transgender pediatrician, as Pennsylvania\u2019s physician general. Before becoming the Assistant Secretary of Health to the Biden administration, Levine worked for six years to advance \u201cLGBTQ rights,\u201d including access to \u201cgender-affirming\u201d care. Levine has pressed for insurance coverage for medical gender transition at the state and federal levels. From 2015 to 2021, Pennsylvania saw a nearly 5000% increase in spending on \u201cgender-affirming\u201d care for minors under 18.<\/p>\n<p>The request included data from Fee-For-Service (FFS) paid claims, Physical Health (PH) HealthChoices paid encounters, and Behavioral Health (BH) HealthChoices paid encounters available in Pennsylvania DHS\u2019 PROMISe from January 1, 2015, through October 21, 2022.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-458094\" class=\"wp-image-458094 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Sex-Reassignment-Infographic-Square-v3-576x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"576\" height=\"576\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Sex-Reassignment-Infographic-Square-v3-576x576-1.jpg 576w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Sex-Reassignment-Infographic-Square-v3-300x300-1.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2022\/11\/Sex-Reassignment-Infographic-Square-v3-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Sex-Reassignment-Infographic-Square-v3-768x768-1.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Sex-Reassignment-Infographic-Square-v3.jpg 1080w\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-458094\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image provided by PA Family Institute<\/p>\n<p>In 2021, Pennsylvania spent more than $3.9 million on services pertaining to \u201csex reassignment and transition related services and drugs\u201d for minors. This figure is up from $2.7 million in 2020, which saw little increase from 2019, most likely attributed to the pandemic, when outpatient services and elective procedures were put on hold. From January 1, 2022, to October 21, 2022, the state spent $3.7 million on medical interventions for \u201ctrans\u201d minors and is on course to exceed previous years.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>2015 saw the lowest spending for transitioning minors at $78,000 before \u201cgender-affirming\u201d care was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federalregister.gov\/documents\/2016\/05\/18\/2016-11458\/nondiscrimination-in-health-programs-and-activities\">adopted<\/a> as national policy as part of Obamacare. On July 18, 2016, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services <a href=\"https:\/\/transequality.org\/blog\/pennsylvania-medicaid-removes-trans-health-exclusions\">announced<\/a> that the state Medicaid program would begin to cover all \u201cmedically necessary gender transition services.\u201d 2016 saw a 755% increase from 2015 at $668,000.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis level of state-endorsed harm upon children is reprehensible,\u201d said Alexis Sneller of the PA Family Institute. \u201cWhile we knew the Wolf administration was funding services related to these irreversible procedures on minors, now seeing the exact numbers\u2013millions spent towards these detrimental acts\u2013is still shocking.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Nadia Dowshen, co-founder of the Children\u2019s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) Gender Clinic, <a href=\"https:\/\/thepostmillennial.com\/watch-chop-gender-clinic-co-founder-praises-rachel-levines-initiatives-for-medical-transition-of-minors\">praised<\/a> Levine during a 2018 lecture for being a \u201creally wonderful advocate\u201d for \u201cwork[ing] to ensure young people have coverage of these medications,\u201d noting how expensive puberty-blocking drugs, cross-sex hormones, and gender-related surgeries can be.<\/p>\n<p>A young Pennsylvania woman named <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/detransitioner-met-with-vitriol-by-transgender-activists-shares-her-story\">KC Miller<\/a> had a viral video on Twitter describing the significant hair loss and receding hairline she now has after five years of taking testosterone. Miller adopted a transgender identity at 16 and was referred to a local gender clinic by CHOP, where she was prescribed the hormone just after her 17th birthday. Only six months after the injections started, she received a double mastectomy to remove her breasts. At age 21, she announced that she wanted to detransition after realizing that \u201csocial contagion\u201d greatly influenced her initial decision.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGender-affirming\u201d care discourages medical professionals from questioning a minor\u2019s self-reported transgender identity or exploring possible underlying factors that may be causing their dysphoria. The standard protocol for gender affirmation is administering puberty blockers, followed by cross-sex hormones, and then surgery, if desired. Proponents generally argue that parental approval should not be a requirement and reject medical \u201cgatekeeping.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>None of these U.S.-based organizations that endorse \u201cgender-affirming\u201d care have done systematic reviews of the evidence, while arguably more leftist European countries like <a href=\"https:\/\/segm.org\/segm-summary-sweden-prioritizes-therapy-curbs-hormones-for-gender-dysphoric-youth\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sweden<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/genderreport.ca\/finland-strict-guidelines-for-treating-gender-dysphoria\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Finland<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/news\/englands-national-health-service-abandons-gender-affirming-model-of-care\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">England<\/a> have. After reviewing the evidence for the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in treating pediatric gender dysphoria, health authorities in all three countries have decided to abandon the \u201cgender-affirming\u201d model, finding the costs outweigh the benefits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new public records request reveals how millions of taxpayer dollars have funded controversial \u201cgender-affirming\u201d medical treatments for trans-identifying minors in Pennsylvania.\u00a0 The Pennsylvania Family Institute, a non-profit representing family values, filed a right-to-know request with the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services to find out exactly how much taxpayer money has been spent on medically &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1489,"featured_media":1720377,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1720374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1720374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1489"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1720374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1720374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1720377"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1720374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1720374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1720374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}