The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Health Systems Independent/No System, Main Line HealthThe Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
501(c)(3)
3401 Civic Center Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA
Total Sex Change Patients
Total Surgery Patients
Total Hormone and Puberty Blocker Patients
Total Prescriptions Written
Total Submitted Charges
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) operates the Gender & Sexuality Development Program, a clinic opened in 2014 that serves “gender-variant, gender-nonconforming and transgender children and youth up to 21 years of age and their families.” The clinic offers psychosocial and medical support. Claims data confirms that CHOP has billed for hormone therapy, puberty blockers, and sex change surgeries for minors.
For more information on the specific procedure and diagnostic codes and other methodology used to make these determination, read our white paper here.
Key Findings
CHOP bills itself as “a national leader in supporting transgender children, youth, and their families” and has been recognized several times as a “LGBT Healthcare Equality Leader” by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC).
Opened in 2014, CHOP’s Gender & Sexuality Development Program offers a variety of services including “gender affirming medical care,” insurance advocacy, legal support, and “connections to local stylists and salon owners who are LGBTQ friendly.” Since opening, the clinic has worked with more than 700 families.
In 2017, Dr. Nadia Dowshen, co-director of the Gender & Sexuality Development Program, was asked by Dr. Rachel Levine, Assistant Secretary for Health at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), about research supporting “gender affirming surgeries” for minors. Dowshen responded that she was “not aware of existing literature but it is certainly happening.”
In 2017, Dr. Dowshen opposed legislation to prohibit Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program from covering “gender-affirming care.” Levine and Dowshen were both “involved in efforts opposing a Pennsylvania state bill that would have prohibited Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program from covering transition-related services, including gender transition surgery, in the state. The bill was later rejected by the state legislature.”
In 2018, CHOP published a case study about a family with a daughter who was showing signs of gender dysphoria. The case study claims that “withholding support and treatment is not an option.”
In a 2020 video, Dowshen defended performing sex change surgeries on minors by saying age is just “a number,” and suggested a child’s maturity was “more important.” She also admitted doctors at CHOP performed “top surgery” on patients as young as 14. Top surgery includes removing or implanting breasts.
In response to a question about the potentially life-altering effects of hormone drugs given to transgender minors, which can cause infertility, Dr. Dowshen said that many youngsters with gender dysphoria “are not interested in having children at all.”
Sex Change Treatments Offered
Gender & Sexuality Development Program
In 2014, Dr. Linda Hawkins and Dr. Nadia Dowshen created the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Gender and Sexuality Program. As of March 2022, CHOP’s Gender and Sexuality Program said it had “worked with more than 700 families, many of whom hail from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York.”
“What we really try to do with this program is create a one-stop shop for families’ needs,’ Hawkins said. ‘When I started the program it was hard to find therapists, doctors and school advocates. What I really wanted to do was have a place where you come into my office, you sit down, you take a deep breath and parents just get to go back to being parents. They don’t need to be case managers, insurance specialists and advocates in that way of having to find the resources.”
The case study focuses on a family with a daughter who has “started declaring that she is not a girl and wants her parents to call her Mark.” It claims “withholding support and treatment is not an option.”
Sex change treatments offered:
- For a young child exploring gender, no medical treatment is recommended, but “social transition” may be appropriate
- “Instead, we prescribe love and support. This can include social transition when feasible and appropriate, which means wearing clothes and hair as they prefer and being called by name and pronoun they feel fits them best. These may prove to be opportunities for gender exploration, which may result in a change in requests, or may be a way for a child to share they don’t feel they align with their sex assigned at birth.”
- For a child who has begun puberty, puberty blockers are suggested
- CHOP suggests the child “be seen by one of our adolescent medicine specialists or endocrinologists” and “begin GnRH agonists or puberty blockers to alleviate distress associated with the changes of puberty that don’t match a young persons gender identity.”
- Hormone therapy is also recommended
- “The next step in treatment will usually be to start gender-affirming hormones such as estrogen or testosterone, which will have some permanent effects.”
Participants in the study included transgender patients between the ages of 10 to 17 who received puberty blockers for at least six months. The average age of patients was 15 years old.
The study concluded puberty blockers could “alleviate distress and support other areas of functioning for transgender youth.”
Definitions
SEX CHANGE PATIENTS: Total unique children who underwent “gender-affirming” surgical procedures or hormone/puberty blocker therapy.
TOTAL SURGERY PATIENTS: Total unique children who underwent “gender-affirming” surgical procedures.
TOTAL HORMONE AND PUBERTY BLOCKERS PATIENTS: Total unique children who were prescribed puberty blockers or received gender-affirming hormone therapy.
TOTAL PRESCRIPTIONS WRITTEN: Total number of prescriptions written by a provider for puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones for children.
TOTAL SUBMITTED CHARGES: This is the initial amount a healthcare provider or pharmacy submits to the insurance company for a specific service, treatment, or prescription before the insurance company reviews and adjusts the payment. This value includes both the pharmacy-submitted cost of prescription drug claims and the line-item charges associated with medical procedures. Please note that this amount does not necessarily reflect the full cost of the procedure or prescription, as it is subject to adjustments and negotiations by the insurance company.
Leadership
Executive Leadership
Name | Title | Compensation |
---|---|---|
Madeline Bell | President & CEO | $7,621,860 |
Calvin U. Allen | EVP Chief Human Resources Officer | $1,536,812 |
Steven Docimo, M.D. | EVP Business Development | $1,100,159 |
Susan Furth, M.D. | EVP Chief Scientific Officer | $841,347 |
Douglas G. Hock | EVP Chief Operating Officer | $2,692,789 |
Sophia Holder | EVP Chief Financial Officer | $916,104 |
Monica Taylor Lotty | EVP Chief Development Officer | $1,285,687 |
The current leadership/titles are based on the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation website, but the compensation information is from the 2022 Form 990, filed 5/11/2023.
Board of Trustees
Name | Title | Compensation |
---|---|---|
Christopher Gheysens | Chairman | $0 |
Gregory Davis | Vice Chair | $0 |
Madeline Bell | President & CEO | N/A |
Ashley McEvoy | Secretary | $0 |
Seth Lehr | Treasurer | $0 |
Sophia G. Holder | Assistant Treasurer | N/A |
Jeffrey D. Kahn, Esq. | Assistant Secretary | $1,900,113 |
The current leadership/titles are based on the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Foundation website, but the compensation information is from the 2022 Form 990, filed 5/11/2023.
CHOP appears to elect its Board of Trustees but it is unclear how often elections are held and how long terms may last (if any). Compensation reflects the tax year beginning July 1, 2021, and ending June 30, 2022.
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In the News
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