NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt University Medical Center is facing a lawsuit filed by its transgender clinic patients, who allege that the hospital violated their privacy by sharing their records with Tennessee’s attorney general.
Two patients filed the lawsuit on Monday in Nashville Chancery Court, claiming that their records, along with those of over 100 other individuals, were sent by Vanderbilt to Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. The attorney general’s office stated that they are investigating medical billing as part of a routine fraud investigation that does not target patients or their families. Vanderbilt maintains that it was legally obligated to comply with the request.
The patients argue that Vanderbilt was aware of the hostile stance of Tennessee authorities towards transgender rights and should have redacted their personal information before handing over the records.
Tennessee has gained attention for its conservative-led efforts to enact laws restricting transgender individuals, making it among the states with the most anti-LGBTQ regulations. Despite objections from families and advocates who consider these policies harmful, Tennessee has persisted. The lawsuit seeks to obtain class-action status on behalf of all clinic patients whose private medical records were shared with Skrmetti.
“Against that backdrop, its failure to safeguard the privacy of its patients is particularly egregious,” the lawsuit states.
The attorney general’s office stated that Vanderbilt has been providing records of gender-related treatment billing since December 2022, assuring that these records have been kept confidential. Elizabeth Lane Johnson, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office, clarified that they are not a party to the lawsuit and directed all inquiries to Vanderbilt.
VUMC spokesperson John Howser commented that health systems frequently receive such requests during billing probes and audits, emphasizing that the decision to disclose patient records is never taken lightly. He stated that VUMC had legal obligations to release the patient records, even though it was a difficult decision.
According to the lawsuit, many of the affected patients are either state workers, their adult children or spouses, or individuals covered by TennCare, the state’s Medicaid plan. Some of the patients were not even associated with the transgender clinic. The lawsuit claims that the identities of over 100 current and former patients were disclosed without proper redaction.
Since discovering that their information was shared, the patients have experienced feelings of terror, anxiety, and distress, affecting their ability to work, leading them to implement enhanced home security measures, and causing them to withdraw from normal activities, as stated in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit accuses Vanderbilt of negligence resulting in emotional harm, violation of patient privacy protection and consumer protection laws. It seeks monetary compensation, enhanced security measures, an injunction to prevent further release of records without notice, an acknowledgment from Vanderbilt of its privacy policy violation, and an admission that the policy inadequately informs patients about their rights concerning disclosures.
The hospital waited several months before notifying patients about the sharing of their medical information, choosing to inform them after the requests were revealed as evidence in another court case. John Howser explained that at that point, hospital officials believed it was necessary for patients to receive the information directly from them rather than through media reports or other sources.
The attorney general additionally requested various additional information, including the names of all individuals referred to the transgender clinic who had at least one office visit, as well as volunteers for the hospital’s Trans Buddy initiative, which aims to provide emotional support and improve access to care for clinic patients.
John Howser mentioned that Vanderbilt’s lawyers are currently discussing with the attorney general’s office the relevant information for their investigation and what will be provided by VUMC.
The attorney general’s office initiated these requests after conservative commentator Matt Walsh released videos in September, which featured a medical center doctor stating that gender-affirming procedures are financially lucrative for hospitals. Following pressure from Republican lawmakers and Governor Bill Lee, Vanderbilt temporarily suspended all gender-affirming surgeries for minors in the subsequent month and faced demands for an investigation.
Vanderbilt clarified that since the opening of its clinic in 2018, it had only performed around five gender-affirming surgeries for minors each year with parental consent, none of which involved genital procedures.
Subsequently, Tennessee lawmakers passed a ban on gender-affirming care for minors. Although a lower court judge initially blocked the ban, a federal appeals court recently allowed it to take effect.
Kimberlee Kruesi in Nashville contributed to this report.