Georgia settlement: Medicaid will pay for gender reassignment surgery for men who identify as women

A lawsuit filed by the left-leaning American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of two men living as women has reached a settlement that would force Georgia’s Medicaid program to pay for sex reassignment surgery and other treatments for transgender people.

Sean Thomas and Gwendolyn Cheney say Georgia’s Medicaid discriminates against men, whom Hill repeatedly referred to as women in her reports.

“Gender verification surgery is safe, effective and medically necessary,” said Taylor Brown, staff attorney for the ACLU’s LGBTQ & HIV project. The ability to receive gender-affirming surgical care, regardless of socioeconomic status, is an important factor in addressing the systemic inequalities and inequalities in health that many transgender people face.”

Hill reported:

The ACLU and its Georgia affiliate filed a lawsuit against the department last year for its categorical exclusion from gender verification coverage, arguing that the rule violated the constitutional rights of transgender Medicaid beneficiaries, as well as the Affordable Care Act and federal Medicaid law. .

Although the wider medical community has accepted gender-affirming surgery as an effective treatment for adult gender dysphoria, the state has “incorrectly” described both women’s medical needs as “cosmetic” and “experimental,” according to a complaint that was initially eventually resolved. . April after court mediation.

It will take a few months for the Georgia Medicaid exemption to be lifted, according to the ACLU, but transgender beneficiaries should now be able to apply for gender-affirmation surgery coverage through their provider. The group added that the government’s coverage of gender-affirming medical care is a definite “life-saving” step.

The Hill reports that the treaty cuts the number of states banning “gender-affirming” treatments from ten to nine. Exceptions include Ohio, where the ban does not apply, and Arkansas, where the 2021 Medicaid ban applies to minors only.

Actually Delshon Thomas and Gwendolyn Cheney vs GeorgiaNumber. 1:21-cv-02558 for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.