Vice President JD Vance on Thursday announced that he and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had referred hospitals and healthcare providers to the Department of Justice for prosecution for allegedly defrauding patients and insurers.

Vance appeared in an X video announcing the move, along with Kennedy and Assistant HHS Secretary Brian Christine. Their announcement follows the release of a "Wolves in White Coats" report outlining the practices of hospitals that prescribed experimental gender treatments with limited evidence.

"Unfortunately, children who express discomfort with their sex have come to be viewed as profit centers by some hospitals and doctors," Vance wrote to Attorney General Todd Blanche. "Today, I am referring the HHS report and the allegations it contains to the Department of Justice to determine whether the providers identified have violated federal law, regulations, or policies."

"Whether providers miscode treatment in order to secure insurance coverage for gender-transitioning interventions that insurance would not otherwise cover, they should be held accountable," he added. "If they have done so intentionally, thereby perpetrating a fraud on Medicaid or on private insurers, they should go to prison."

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent for Just the News. Follow him on X.