Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti’s office responded Thursday to a report from conservative Daily Wire commentator and filmmaker Matt Walsh, saying that companies operating in Tennessee are allegedly writing bogus diagnoses of gender dysphoria in order to help people obtain sex change surgeries via insurance.
Walsh noted that these alleged scammers are operating in Tennessee, prompting The Tennessee Star to ask the Attorney General’s office for a comment.
Though the Attorney General’s office did not confirm whether it was looking into the matter, it did strongly denounce healthcare fraud.
“There is no political exception to health care fraud. If any health care providers are cutting corners at the expense of patient and state funds, whether it’s in pursuit of profit or ideology, we want to know about it,” the Attorney General’s office said in a statement made to The Star on Thursday.
In a 20-part Twitter thread, Walsh broke down a system of healthcare networks that are allegedly helping people obtain sex change surgeries via insurance, which requires an actual diagnosis of gender dysphoria, a medical condition.
“The largest “trans healthcare” providers in the U.S. are rubber-stamping letters approving gruesome, life-altering surgeries. It’s such a racket that my producer was approved for testicle removal in #22minutes. The tape is disturbing,” said Walsh in the thread.
Gregg Re, who works at Daily Wire, posed as a transgender person seeking to have his testicles removed but said he needed a gender dysphoria diagnosis to have it covered by insurance.
“First, some background. Ari Groner is a licensed clinical social worker who educates doctors on “trans healthcare.” At a recent training session for the Juniper Center, Groner explained that she writes whatever letters her patients want, because she’s not a ‘gatekeeper,'” Walsh said.
“Groner was referring to the WPATH standards, which major hospitals follow. They require that trans patients obtain a letter before undergoing surgeries. But Groner tells her audience to treat the letters as a “persuasive essay,” and to green-light even suicidal patients,” he continued. “Groner explains that insurance companies won’t pay for these surgeries unless the patient is diagnosed with gender dysphoria. So, she says healthcare workers should provide the diagnosis. ‘We’re using that diagnosis,’ she says, ‘to ensure clients get that necessary treatment.'”
Groner alleges that this practice is the “industry standard,” despite what healthcare providers might think.
One company that doles out allegedly fraudulent gender dysphoria diagnoses is called Folx.
“Whatever insurance companies might think of that, it’s the industry standard,” Walsh said. “The popular trans telehealth service [Folx Health], for example, instructs patients that even if they don’t ‘fit’ the definition of gender dysphoria, the diagnosis is ‘needed’ so that insurers pay out.”
“Folx, which provides letters authorizing surgeries for a nominal fee, goes on to admit that ‘it’s quite possible’ patients will receive a letter indicating a gender dysphoria diagnosis, even though they ‘really do not have dysphoria,'” he continued.
6/ Folx, which provides letters authorizing surgeries for a nominal fee, goes on to admit that “it’s quite possible” patients will receive a letter indicating a gender dysphoria diagnosis, even though they “really do not have dysphoria.” pic.twitter.com/j9x3ZyKmGf
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 7, 2023
To get an inside look at the process, Daily Wire employee Gregg Re went undercover, posing as a transgender female (biological male) called “Chelsea Bussey,” seeking to have his testicles removed.
He used a company called Plume Clinic, which Walsh says operates similarly to Folx, in order to obtain his diagnosis.
“In his intake form with Plume, Gregg provided a fake legal name,” Walsh said. “He said he had dysphoria in the past. But he stated he had never experienced it for six months or more. Under the current version of the DSM-5, that means he doesn’t have gender dysphoria.”
“Plume quickly scheduled Gregg for a video interview anyway. He assumed the identity ‘Chelsea Bussey.’ He didn’t even attempt to pass. He badly mispronounced the name of the surgery he wanted. He made it clear he didn’t know what effect the surgery would have,” according to Walsh.
“Nevertheless, Plume’s nurse practitioner said she wanted to write the most ‘solid’ letter possible to justify surgery. Gregg tells her that he once wrote an essay in school about being a woman, which everyone thought was ridiculous,” said Walsh.
11/ Nevertheless, Plume’s nurse practitioner said she wanted to write the most "solid" letter possible to justify surgery. Gregg tells her that he once wrote an essay in school about being a woman, which everyone thought was ridiculous. pic.twitter.com/iY7Ec3Q1wd
— Matt Walsh (@MattWalshBlog) June 7, 2023
Re also told the provider that his father had been prescribing him hormones, which the Plume representative said was a “perfect” arrangement.
The entire consultation took 22 minutes, according to Walsh.
“Three days later, Plume sent this letter to ‘Chelsea Bussey’ – who does not exist – saying he was experiencing ‘significant, ongoing gender dysphoria.’ The letter strongly recommended ‘Chelsea’ for testicle removal,” said Walsh.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter.
