The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Health Systems Independent/No System, Main Line Health

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

501(c)(3)

3401 Civic Center Blvd.
Philadelphia, PA

122

Total Sex Change Patients

info icon Total unique children who underwent gender-affirming procedures or hormone/puberty blocker therapy.
5

Total Surgery Patients

info icon Total unique children who underwent gender-affirming surgical procedures.
117

Total Hormone and Puberty Blocker Patients

info icon Total unique children who were prescribed puberty blockers or received gender-affirming hormone therapy.
768

Total Prescriptions Written

info icon Total number of scripts for puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones.
$230,784

Total Submitted Charges

info icon Total amount submitted by providers or pharmacies to insurance for services, treatments, or prescriptions, before any reviews or adjustments. Includes medical procedures and prescription charges but may not reflect the final amount after negotiations.

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.”

In November 2018, CHOP published a case study titled, “Support Of The Gender Nonconforming Child And Family The Top Priority.”

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 claimswithholding 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.”

A 2024 study by Dr. Dowshen aimed to described the impact of puberty blockers on transgender youth “to gain insight into their experience” in response to increasing legislation aimed at restricting “gender affirming care.”

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

Stay up to date with the latest news and updates.

Washington Examiner

Rachel Levine sought studies favoring gender transitions for minors, email…

11/23/2023

“Dr. Rachel Levine, the assistant secretary for health at the Department of Health and Human Services, requested research favoring allowing…

Read More →
Daily Mail

'Age is just a number': Doctor at gender clinic in…

11/01/2022

.” “A top doctor at a gender clinic in Philadelphia has come under fire for claiming age is just 'a…

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Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

CHOP Named Leader in LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Five Years in…

08/26/2019

.” “’CHOP is committed to providing culturally competent healthcare to all of our patients and families, and I am incredibly…

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The Philadelphia Inquirer

'They just want the chance to play': Reject transgender sports…

06/10/2021

Dowshen co-authored an op-ed critical of legislation barring sports participation by transgender youth. The authors claimed efforts to protect female…

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