The Tennessee Attorney General’s office is investigating VUMC for potential medical billing fraud after Governor Bill Lee called for an investigation into its gender-affirming care on Sept. 12, 2022.
Individuals who have received transgender care at VUMC through state-sponsored insurance plans were notified on June 20 that their medical records were released to the Office of the Tennessee Attorney General as part of a civil investigation into potential billing fraud by VUMC.
In a June 22 message to The Hustler, a university representative emphasized that Vanderbilt University and VUMC legally separated in April 2016. The representative stated that the university’s transgender care task force, established in March 2023, is “assessing the implications of new legislation” but did not specify whether any action has been taken in response to the release of patient records. The three laws related to this case are HIPAA, Tennessee False Claims Act and Tennessee Medicaid False Claims Act, which have been in effect since 2003, 2005 and 2006, respectively.
Vanderbilt University has not sent any public-facing communications to students about the investigation or records release. The university’s Student Health Center is part of VUMC.
In the message to patients, VUMC stated that the release is in accordance with state and federal privacy laws, including HIPAA. A VUMC representative further told The Hustler on June 21 that releasing the records was the hospital’s legal obligation...
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