Sen. Cassidy Demands Answers on Federal Funds for Gender Services to Minors

A top Senate Republican is seeking answers on whether taxpayer-backed health providers used federal support for gender transition services to minors and if taxpayers might pay for related lawsuits.

In letters obtained by Fox News Digital, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, asked two Rhode Island health care providers to address reports of providing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, surgical referrals or related services to patients under 19 years old. He also pressed the Health Resources and Services Administration on whether federal funding and liability protections shield community health centers from accountability.

Cassidy is expanding his review of federally supported providers accused of offering puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and related services to vulnerable patients, including minors. The probe comes days before a Senate hearing on gender transition procedures for children and federal funding for them.

"Health care providers are supposed to protect children’s health, not subject them to dangerous sex-change procedures driven by ideology," Cassidy said in a news release. "These entities need to be held accountable to prevent further harm to children."

General counsel for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Mike Stuart, referred several federally funded community health centers in February for an inspector general investigation over alleged gender-transition services to children. It was not immediately clear whether the HHS Office of Inspector General has completed or released findings. Cassidy’s letter asks HRSA to detail any enforcement actions taken.

Documents from one center, reviewed by Fox News Digital, outline a pathway for patients under 18 seeking gender-affirming care, including hormones, with parental consent for the initial intake. Another center advertises transgender health services, including hormone care, and runs an adolescent health program for LGBTQ youth and young adults ages 13 to 24.

Cassidy’s investigation now includes Thundermist Health Center and Hasbro Children’s Hospital, both federally funded in Rhode Island.

The probe examines a federal liability structure that can make the government responsible for certain malpractice claims. Cassidy noted that some community health centers and providers may be deemed employees of the U.S. Public Health Service for liability purposes. Under the Federal Tort Claims Act, the Department of Justice then defends such cases.

Cassidy said this setup raises accountability issues as detransition lawsuits increase nationwide. His letters cite cases where DOJ represented community health centers or providers in gender transition-related litigation.

Community health centers receive billions in taxpayer dollars from Congress. For fiscal year 2026 alone, they will get over $6.3 billion in mandatory and discretionary funding. HRSA’s Health Center Program also receives $120 million to administer the Federal Tort Claims Act Program, Cassidy’s letter to HRSA states.

"The underlying conduct is concerning and exposes potential gaps in the guardrails governing existing federal funding streams. Furthermore, the current liability framework raises accountability challenges. Patients alleging harm from gender transition-related services may be forced to litigate against the full resources of the federal government, rather than the individual providers responsible for their care, with DOJ defending providers engaged in practices that this administration and HHS have sought to restrict."

Thundermist receives mandatory and discretionary grants from the federal government, enhanced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, 340B drug pricing program revenue and other support. In fiscal year 2024, 66% of its grants and contributions revenue came from HHS and HRSA.

Cassidy pointed to a Rhode Island lawsuit by a former patient against Thundermist providers, alleging medical malpractice, negligence and lack of informed consent tied to gender transition.

His letter to Hasbro raises similar federal-funding questions but focuses on support for children’s hospitals.

Fox News Digital contacted Thundermist and Hasbro for comment but received no response by publication time.

At the upcoming HELP Committee hearing, Cassidy plans to highlight risks of pediatric gender transition procedures and whether federal agencies have restricted taxpayer support for providers offering them to minors.

The hearing will press HRSA and HHS on identifying federally funded providers still offering such services to minors, any restricted or terminated grants, and whether liability protections should apply.

Cassidy asked HRSA to respond by May 28 to questions on community health centers providing gender transition services, effects on funding eligibility and taxpayer money used for related claims.

Fox News Digital sought comment from HHS on inspector general investigations into community health centers but received no response.