Lawsuit says ban arbitrarily denies transgender people necessary healthcare
CASE UPDATE
The state has since granted a stay on the Outfront v. Piper case. The court has protected transgendered Minnesotans. Our client Evan, along with all other transgender individuals on Minnesota's state-run healthcare program, can currently access all of their necessary medical care (including transition-related medical care).
CASE BACKGROUND
The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Minnesota filed a lawsuit today in Minnesota State Court to challenge the coverage ban on transition-related surgery for transgender people on Medical Assistance and MinnesotaCare, the state's public insurance programs for low-income residents.
Minnesota's Medical Assistance program provides coverage for medically necessary care for virtually every type of medical condition. But for gender dysphoria, Minnesota law mandates a sweeping and categorical exclusion of all transition-related surgical care without any regard to whether the treatment is medically necessary for an individual recipient. As a result of this sweeping exclusion, most surgical treatments for gender dysphoria are excluded from coverage even though the same or substantially equivalent treatments are required to be covered under the federal Medicare program and private insurance plans regulated by the State of Minnesota.
The complaint was filed on behalf of plaintiffs Evan Thomas and OutFront Minnesota, the state's leading LGBTQ rights group, arguing that this ban is discriminatory and has no basis in medical science.
Evan Thomas is currently on Medical Assistance and has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria. After fighting depression all his life, he began hormone therapy and legally changed his name and gender earlier this year. But he has been denied coverage for medically necessary transition-related surgery.
OutFront is Minnesota's largest LGBTQ rights organization and is regularly contacted by transgender individuals on Medical Assistance or MinnesotaCare seeking coverage for transition services, including transition-related surgery. OutFront provides guidance to these individuals regarding Minnesota's Medical Assistance program and their coverage options.
Ten states and the District of Columbia currently cover transition-related surgical care through their public health insurance programs. Transition-related surgery is also covered by Medicare.
The case is filed against the Commissioner of Minnesota's Department of Human Services and demands that Minnesota ends its discriminatory practice of excluding transgender individuals from accessing all of their needed health care.