The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday it has reached a settlement with Connecticut Children’s Medical Center that prohibits the hospital from providing gender-transition-related medical treatment to patients younger than 18.
The settlement comes about a year after the Hartford-based health system announced it was winding down its pediatric gender-care program.
The agreement with DOJ also requires CT Children’s to establish a $500,000 fund to pay for medical care for any former patient seeking what the department described as “detransition” services, as well as to pay an undisclosed civil penalty to resolve allegations involving insurance billing practices.
As part of the settlement, the hospital denied any liability.
In a statement to Hartford Business Journal, CT Children’s said the resolution allows it to remain focused on its mission while protecting patient privacy.
“We can confirm we have reached a resolution that allows our organization to remain focused on our mission of improving the health and well-being of children,” the hospital said. “Most importantly, patient privacy remained our foremost concern throughout this process and we were able to resolve this matter without disclosing any protected patient information to the U.S. government.”
The hospital added that it “has complied and will continue to comply with all federal and state laws” and declined to comment further.
CT Children’s announced in July 2025 that it would phase out its pediatric gender-care program, citing an increasingly complex legal and regulatory environment. At the time, the hospital said it would stop initiating new patients on puberty blockers or hormone therapy and transition existing patients to other providers.
Under the settlement, CT Children’s agreed to not provide puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones or other gender-transition-related medical treatments to minors and to maintain policies prohibiting such care for patients younger than 18.
The Justice Department said the settlement is part of the Trump administration’s nationwide effort to end pediatric gender-transition-related medical care. The department also alleged CT Children’s improperly sought insurance reimbursement for certain treatments. Those allegations were resolved through the settlement without an admission of liability by the hospital.
The agreement is the third the Justice Department has reached with pediatric hospitals across the country as the administration seeks to implement President Donald Trump’s executive orders targeting gender-transition-related medical care for minors. The department previously announced settlements with Texas Children’s Hospital and Cleveland Clinic.
CT Children’s is one of two Connecticut health systems to publicly discontinue pediatric gender-affirming medical treatments since the Trump administration began targeting such care. Yale New Haven Health also announced last year it would stop providing puberty blockers and hormone therapy to patients younger than 19 while continuing other gender-related services.
Connecticut remains among the states challenging the administration’s policies affecting transgender healthcare. Earlier this year, Attorney General William Tong joined a multistate lawsuit that resulted in a federal court order blocking portions of an administration policy that sought to withhold federal funding from healthcare providers offering gender-affirming care to minors.
