A Texas nurse who exposed secret gender treatments on minors at the state's largest children's hospital has secured a groundbreaking legal settlement.
Vanessa Sivadge, who worked as registered nurse at Texas Children's Hospital, first blew the whistle after witnessing procedures she says violated both hospital public statements and state law. Now she’s expected to receive almost $2 million in settlement money.
Roughly $9 million will go to the state of Texas.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office found that Texas Children’s:
-- billed Texas Medicaid for gender-transition interventions that weren't eligible for Medicaid reimbursement;
-- allegedly used false diagnosis codes to obtain payment;
-- provided puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to minors for gender-transition purposes; and
-- engaged in conduct that the federal government said potentially violated the False Claims Act, federal fraud and conspiracy laws, and the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Sivadge went public after discovering what she describes as systemic fraud used to cover the costs of those treatments. “First and foremost, they had a fully functional and robust gender clinic happening at my workplace. And week after week, young boys and girls would come in and leave with a prescription for a cross-sex hormone and a puberty blocker,” she said.
Business was booming as some of the hospital’s doctors kept clients moving through secretly and at a brisk pace. “Not only was the hospital transitioning children in secret ... they were also committing fraud. And what I ended up discovering ... is that Texas Children's doctors in the transgender clinic were billing Medicaid for the gender hormones, for the puberty blockers, and they were doing so fraudulently,” Sivadge said.
After coming forward, she faced intense pressure — including an unexpected visit to her home by federal agents, followed by her termination from the hospital in 2024.
Now, a historic lawsuit settlement under the False Claims Act is holding the institution accountable. Texas Children's Hospital, in addition to the massive payout, will clear Sivadge's employment record and establish a first-of-its-kind medical facility. “They have to actually open and fund a historic first-of-its-kind detransition clinic, the first in America and the first in the world. They have to fund this clinic for five years for eligible detransitioners.”
Reflecting on her journey, Sivadge says standing up for her convictions was difficult, but necessary. “Doing what is right is really hard, but what I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt is that it is always worth it, and that God always rewards people who are obedient to him."
Sivadge now serves as president of the advocacy group Protecting Texas Children.
AFN reached out to Texas Children's for comment and did not receive a response.
