LGBTQ+ rights groups have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a Florida regulation that denies Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming medical services deemed medically necessary for transgender people.
Lambda Legal, Southern Legal Counsel, Florida Health Justice Project, and National Health Law Program, along with the international law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP sued the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) in the US District Court for the Northern District of Florida.
“It has been extremely stressful having to worry regarding whether I will be able to get the medical care that I need and that my doctors recommend. This new Medicaid regulation denies me the ability to receive treatment that I cannot otherwise afford,” said plaintiff August Dekker, a 28-year-old transgender man from Hernando County, Florida.
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For Dekker all people have the right to exist in the way they feel safe. The plaintiff stressed that the ban affects many transgender people who receive Medicaid, especially their physical and mental health. “It is really horrible and unfair to feel that the State is despising your existence,” he said.
The regulation adopted by the AHCA has left thousands of transgender people in Florida without access to critical medical care for the treatment of gender dysphoria.
AHCA finalized the rule on Aug. 1 following ignoring expert testimony and thousands of public comments during the rulemaking process earlier this summer.
“We believe that providing our daughter with the medical care she needs and is recommended by her doctors for her gender dysphoria is imperative to ensure her health and well-being,” said the parents of plaintiff Susan, a 12-year-old transgender girl.
For Susan’s family members, the State of Florida’s decision to stop covering gender-affirming medical services through Medicaid is tragic, cruel and dehumanizing. “It is frustrating to know that the same medications and care that are given to other children for different medical reasons will not be covered for our daughter,” they added. The adults emphasized their concern regarding the message that the Florida government sends towards transgender people.
With information from Press release
