The State health plan discriminated against transgender employees, US Appeals Court rules
North Carolina was wrong to exclude gender affirming care from State Employee Health Plan coverage, said the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. (Getty Image)
The North Carolina State Employee Health Plan’s exclusion of gender-affirming care for transgender employees and their families is discriminatory, the US Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled.
The 8-6 ruling Monday affirmed a lower court decision that the state violated the rights of state employees who use the state health plan by denying gender-affirming care for people with gender dysphoria.
“In addition to discriminating on the basis of gender identity, the exclusions discriminate on the basis of sex,” Judge Roger Gregory wrote for the majority.
Lambda Legal and the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund filed the lawsuit in 2019 challenging the exclusions on behalf of seven plaintiffs.
“I am pleased with this powerful court victory not only for myself but for all other state employees who have been discriminated against across North Carolina, Julia McKeown, an associate professor at NC State University said in a statement.
“As government employees, all we want is equal access to healthcare, but we were denied just because we are transgender. I’m relieved the court found this discrimination unlawful, and hope North Carolina officials will finally stop their wasteful fight to deny us our rights and will now stand on the side of equality,” the statement said.
The health plan for state employees began covering medically necessary transgender care in 2017, NC Newsline has reported. When state Treasurer Dale Folwell won the office, he decided to end the coverage.
In 2022, US District Judge Loretta Biggs ruled against the exclusions. The health plan resumed the coverage as Folwell appealed.
A statement from Folwell’s office Monday quoted from a dissenting opinion and expressed hope the majority ruling will be “corrected by the US Supreme Court.”
Saying the health plan risks insolvency, Folwell’s statement says the health plan has to do the most good for the most people with its finite resources. The health plan covers about 750,000 people.
The majority opinion called arguments that the treatments were too expensive “a non-starter.”
The ruling comes as North Carolina and other states have passed laws aimed at gender-affirming health care and participation in sports.
Last year, North Carolina legislators passed laws prohibiting gender-affirming care for people younger than 18, prohibited transgender female athletes from participating in sports consistent with their gender identity, and required schools to tell parents if their children want to use different names or pronouns.
The post The State health plan discriminated against transgender employees, US Appeals Court rules appeared first on NC Newsline.
