The Department of Justice appears to have ramped up its scrutiny of healthcare providers that have delivered gender-affirming care to minors, with one major system suggesting it and others are now facing a criminal probe.
NYU Langone Health disclosed this week that it is “one of the several institutions” that received a grand jury subpoena on May 7.
The subpoena, sent from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Texas, requests information on patients younger than 18 who received gender-affirming care at the New York system between 2020 and 2026, as well as the names of their providers “and others who were involved in offering such care” at the system, NYU Langone Health said.
The DOJ said last summer it had sent administrative subpoenas to more than 20 hospitals across the country seeking similar information, with then-Attorney General Pam Bondi promising that providers adherent to “a warped ideology will be held accountable by this Department of Justice.” The effort lands under an executive order signed by President Donald Trump early in his second term, instructing the executive branch to use everything at its disposal to limit the treatments for those under the age of 19.
Those subpoenas have proven difficult to execute, however, with many hospitals pushing back on the requests and over half a dozen district judges agreeing to pare down the information demands.
Last week’s grand jury subpoena is the first known instance of the DOJ turning to a grand jury over the delivery of gender-affirming care to minors. NYU Langone Health appears to have posted its notice regarding the probe to comply with New York State’s Shield Law, which requires it to make a reasonable attempt to notify the individuals whose legally protected health information is requested before complying.
“We understand that these developments may be concerning to our patients, providers, and others. Please know that NYU Langone takes the privacy of your protected health information very seriously and we are evaluating our response to the subpoena,” the system wrote while promising to post further updates.
The escalation follows the DOJ's appeals of several of the district judges' decisions that limited its administrative probe. And a couple of weeks back, a federal judge in Texas ordered a Brown University Health system hospital to comply with its subpoena just hours after the DOJ filed a petition requesting enforcement.
Other wings of the executive branch have also worked to limit the services. The Federal Trade Commission has launched its own investigation within the lens of medical fraud protection. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services moved in December to restrict hospitals delivering gender-affirming care from Medicare participation, though that declaration was swiftly challenged and vacated by a federal judge in March.
Still, the pressure campaign has led dozens of health systems and other providers of pediatric gender-affirming care to either limit or fully wind down their offerings over fear of litigation and funding restrictions.