New insights from an investigation of insurance claims reveal shocking facts about how many transgender children have sought and received transgender medical treatment.
Reuters, a left-leaning news outlet, published a Thursday report using data analyzed by health tech company Komodo Health Inc. It identified the number of children who had been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and other related disorders.
Komodo Health Inc analyzed its database of U.S. medical records and insurance claims on approximately 330 million Americans. Reuters claims that the analysis is the first ever of its kind and found that between 2017-2021, at least 121 882 children aged 6-17 were diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
According to data Komodo compiled, 42,000 teens and children in the United States will be diagnosed with gender dysphoria by 2021. This is almost triple the number in 2017 and 70% more than in 2020.
The analysis revealed that 17683 children diagnosed with gender dysphoria were on hormone blockers or puberty blockers over the five-year span of 2017-2021. This is an increase of 2,394 from 2017 to 5,063 by 2021. There were 4,780 cases who had started hormone treatment, and 14,726 had begun puberty blockers.
“These numbers are likely to be significant undercount because they don’t include kids whose records didn’t specify a gender dysphoria diagnose or whose treatment was not covered by insurance,” Reuters stated.
According to Komodo’s analysis of insurance claims, 776 mastectomies have been performed on teenage girls diagnosed with gender dysphoria between 2019 and 2021. Reuters stated that this tally does NOT include any procedures that were paid out-of-pocket. Komodo’s analysis of insurance claims also found that 56 genital procedures were performed by patients who had a previous gender dysphoria diagnosis between 2019 and 2021.
Reuters published a Thursday article to add context to the data set. It includes some of the permanent side effects and lack of evidence to support their use.
Reuters stated that hormone treatment can cause some permanent changes. “Hormone treatment can leave an adolescent unfertile, especially if they also take puberty blocks at an early age,” Reuters reported. Experts don’t know if there are other side effects. Reuters also noted that orgasm is not possible for children who start taking puberty blocks at the beginning of puberty. Reuters also stated that puberty blockers “stunt the development of male genitalia.”
“Complications following genital surgery are common,” reports Reuters. Citing a California study, Reuters says that 25% of 869 patients who had undergone vaginoplasty had a severe surgical complication that required them to be admitted again. Reuters reported that 44% of those patients needed additional surgery to treat the complication. This included bleeding and bowel injuries.
Reuters explains their analysis as “drawing on full or partial insurance claims for approximately 330 million U.S. patients over the five-year period from 2017 to 2020, including patients covered under private health plans like Medicaid.” Reuters also stated that more than half of all states pay for gender-transition therapy through Medicaid.
“The data cover approximately 40 million patients annually, ages six through seventeen, and include health insurance claims that document diagnoses made by U.S. facilities and clinicians.” Data on puberty-blocking drugs excluded their use on-label to treat precocious puberty.
“While there has been an increase in the number of US gender clinics that treat children, and long waiting lists, strong evidence remains to support the effectiveness and long-term effects of this treatment,” Reuters reports.
