A new report from the federal government reveals that multiple entities affiliated with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center billed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for puberty blockers they provided to minors.
The HHS report, “Wolves in White Coats,” argues that hospitals and medical providers across the United States created and sustained financially lucrative pipelines for pediatric “sex‑rejecting” interventions.
The report describes a system in which minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria were placed into long-term treatment regimens involving puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sometimes surgeries—each generating recurring revenue for pediatric endocrinology, surgery, and affiliated specialties.
These interventions, applied as chronic-care pathways to otherwise healthy youth, produced decades of billable encounters and high-margin procedures for hospitals.
A major theme of the report is the alleged misuse of diagnostic and procedural codes to secure insurance coverage. According to the document, hospitals frequently substituted vague or inaccurate International Classification of Disease codes in place of gender dysphoria codes.
On page 58, the report references Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) in the context of its claims‑based analysis of puberty‑blocker billing patterns.
The mention appears in a section documenting nationwide signals of miscoding, where TTUHSC is listed among institutions with claims involving puberty blockers billed under endocrine disorder codes rather than gender dysphoria codes.
On page 62, the report separately references Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Amarillo (TTUHSC Amarillo) in a similar claims‑analysis context, identifying it as another site where puberty‑blocking medications were billed under diagnostic codes inconsistent with the clinical criteria for precocious puberty.
The Amarillo reference potentially carries additional relevance under Texas law because it covers data through 2026.
In 2023, Texas lawmakers passed Senate Bill 14 which prohibits physicians from providing puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, or gender‑transition surgeries to minors and bars state funds—including Medicaid—from reimbursing such care.
“TTUHSC is aware of and carefully reviewing the recent U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report and the reference to a TTUHSC Amarillo provider organization in the accompanying referral,” a TTUHSC spokesperson told Texas Scorecard. “[Texas Tech] is fully committed to complying with state and federal laws and strives to uphold the highest standards of integrity and accountability in delivering patient care.”
“We have rigorous policies and safeguards in place to support those responsibilities across our clinical and academic operations,” added the spokesperson.
TTUHSC has previously drawn scrutiny for its promotion of Dr. Jody Randall to a “cabinet level” position in the office of the president. Randall, a biological male who identifies as a “transgender female,” has previously worked in a series of diversity, equity, and inclusion positions and has an extensive history of promoting “LGBTQIA” causes.
TTUHSC is a component of the Texas Tech University System. The Texas Tech System is overseen by a Board of Regents that is appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Texas Senate. Cody Campbell of Fort Worth is the current board chair.
