Dive Brief:
- A group of former patients who received gender-affirming care at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital are urging a district court to stop a subpoena that would require the health system to hand over patients’ medical and personal information to the federal government.
- In July, the U.S. Department of Justice issued than more than 20 subpoenas to providers offering gender-affirming care for patients under 19, stating they were investigating healthcare fraud, among other things.
- Now, patients want to stop the hospital from turning over the requested information, which could include details like Social Security numbers, addresses and information about sexual orientation and gender identity, arguing the subpoenas are an unconstitutional violation of their right to privacy.
Dive Insight:
The motion to quash the subpoena, which was filed last week by the Public Interest Law Center and the law firm Ballard Spahr, argues the subpoenas are overly broad and seek access to highly sensitive information that is unnecessary for the government’s investigation.
“Patients and their parents have a constitutionally protected right to privacy in these types of records,” said Mimi McKenzie, legal director at the Public Interest Law Center, in a statement last week. “And courts have consistently recognized this. Releasing these records would pose great harm to patients and their families—particularly given the current social and political climate.”
The patients’ attorneys said they conferred with counsel for the federal government prior to filing their petition to quash the subpoena, and that DOJ attorneys said they planned to oppose the motion.
UPMC and the Children’s Hospital were also hit with a lawsuit, filed last week with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission, over the health system’s decision to end gender-affirming care for minors.
UPMC ended services in June, as health systems nationwide faced intensifying pressure from the federal government to end care for transgender youth. Patients argue that such care is legal in the state and abruptly ending services at UPMC constituted discrimination based on sex and disability.
Multiple health systems have ended gender-affirming care services for minors, including Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente and Mount Sinai, all citing federal pressure.
This summer, a coalition of Blue states, including Pennsylvania, filed a lawsuit attempting to stop the Trump administration from carrying out what they say is an “unconstitutional pressure campaign” on providers. The lawsuit alleges the Trump administration’s efforts to curtail gender-affirming care has had a chilling effect.
