The Grind:
Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, recently commented on a tweet thread by Matt Walsh, shedding light on concerning practices by healthcare providers specializing in sex-change procedures. In an undercover investigation conducted by Walsh and his team, it was revealed that transgender healthcare providers Plume and Folx were seemingly approving life-altering sex-change operations without proper scrutiny, potentially misrepresenting patient health information to ensure insurance coverage.
During the investigation, Walsh’s team found that it was shockingly easy to get approval for sex-change surgery. One of Walsh’s producers received a green light for an orchiectomy, a procedure to remove testicles, after just a 22-minute virtual appointment with Plume, the largest transgender healthcare provider in the United States. Musk responded to Walsh’s Twitter thread, expressing his astonishment at the findings.
The Details:
Walsh’s producer, under the fake name “Chelsea Bussey,” scheduled a video call with Plume and explicitly stated that they had not experienced gender dysphoria for the required duration of six months. Additionally, the producer mispronounced the name of the desired surgery and expressed uncertainty about its effects. However, despite these red flags, Plume’s nurse practitioner expressed a desire to write a letter justifying the surgery. A few days later, Plume sent a letter to the producer, falsely stating that they were experiencing ongoing gender dysphoria and recommending testicle removal. Walsh revealed that Plume uses a template based on standards provided by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) to issue these letters, selling them for $150.
This is not the first time Musk has engaged with Walsh’s work. Recently, Musk responded when Walsh’s documentary “What is a Woman?” was canceled by the platform. Musk retweeted the film, which explores important questions surrounding gender, to his massive following of 140 million on Twitter.
Musk’s engagement with Walsh’s investigations highlights the growing concerns regarding the integrity of transgender healthcare providers and the potential for abuse within the system. The exposure of rubber-stamping practices and alleged misrepresentation of patient information raises questions about the ethical standards and transparency of these providers. As the conversation around transgender healthcare continues, it is crucial to ensure proper oversight and safeguards to protect individuals seeking these procedures.