An international law firm and a coalition of LGBTQ and healthcare advocacy groups filed a complaint Wednesday challenging a Florida rule that excludes transgender-related medical care from Medicaid reimbursements.
The lawsuit was filed with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida against the state’s Agency for Health Care Administration by Lambda Legal, the National Health Law Program, Florida Health Justice Project, Southern Legal Council and the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman on behalf of a group of trans minors and their families.
After Florida’s rule went into effect on Aug. 21, Medicaid coverage exemptions were carved out for gender affirming healthcare that is deemed essential for the treatment of gender dysphoria by all medical societies and organizations with relevant clinical experience.
As the parents of one plaintiff wrote, in a statement: “We believe providing our daughter with the medical care that she needs and is recommended by her doctors for her gender dysphoria is imperative to ensure her health and well-being. The state’s decision to stop covering medically necessary gender-affirming medical care through Medicaid is tragic. It is cruel and dehumanizing.”
Shortly after Florida’s rule was finalized on Aug. 1, the Los Angeles Blade reported the objections of federal health officials at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Civil Rights.
Breaking News: #LGBTQ+ and Health Advocacy Groups are suing to block #Florida‘s Anti-Trans #Medicaid Health Care Rule
Read @SouthernLegal‘s Press Release: https://t.co/fqPE0zqu3l
Meet the plaintiffs: https://t.co/UoSSE3EITg pic.twitter.com/cx6yrpl1WF
— TransinclusiveGroup (@TransinclusiveG) September 7, 2022
Both agencies committed to doing “everything within our authority to protect Medicaid beneficiaries’ access to care and prevent discriminatory policies from taking effect.” Also at that time, Lambda Legal told the Blade the group was considering “all possible avenues for challenging this discriminatory rulemaking.”
CMS did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday on whether legal action against the rule is being considered at this time.
The nonprofit Movement Advancement Project think tank tracks the status of Medicaid coverage for trans related healthcare across all U.S. states, jurisdictions and territories, noting that trans patients often face obstacles to receiving care in states whose Medicaid programs neither explicitly affirm nor explicitly exclude coverage.
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