The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has launched a civil rights investigation into Vanderbilt University Medical Center, a VUMC spokesperson confirmed.
The Tennessee Attorney General’s office says that it hasn’t heard anything about the investigation, but that it could be seen as retaliation, given AG Jonathan Skrmetti’s ongoing litigation against the federal government related to transgender health care.
“Turning a disagreement about the law into a federal investigation would … reflect a dangerous politicization of federal law enforcement,” spokesperson Amy Wilhite says.
The news comes weeks after patients filed a class action lawsuit against the hospital for sharing their information with the AG’s office. Plaintiffs argue that VUMC should’ve done more to protect patients’ privacy, given the attorney general’s history of defending anti-trans measures.
The hospital says it cannot comment on an ongoing investigation. The Department of Health and Human Services did not respond to WPLN’s requests for comment.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of the attorney general’s spokesperson.
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