A federal appeals court ruled earlier this week that transgender state employees, and the transgender dependents of state employees, can sue North Carolina for insurance exclusions that prohibit the state’s employee health care plan from covering gender-affirming medical treatments. Six state employees filed suit against the state in 2019, accusing the North Carolina State Health Plan of discriminating against them or their children. That report noted that the cost of defending the state from lawsuits would far exceed the estimated cost of covering gender-affirming care, which would be approximately 0.011% to 0.027% of the state health care plan’s $3.2 billion in premiums. It was that report that prompted former State Treasurer Janet Cowell (D) to remove exclusions on gender-affirming care from the state employee plan in 2017. “We sued the State Health Plan and North Carolina officials for their blatant discrimination against transgender state employees and their dependents, who like our plaintiffs dedicate their time and talent to improve the wellbeing of the state and its residents, but are deprived of medically necessary and often life-saving health care services,” Gonzalez-Pagan added.

Source: MetroXpress September 03, 2021 12:09 UTC