Republican State to Pay for Gender-Affirming Surgery

A settlement reached in Georgia this week will now require the Republican state to pay for gender-affirming medical care for residents covered by the state health insurance plan, which includes state employees.

On Thursday, the Associated Press reported that three transgender men reached a settlement with the Georgia Department of Community Health after they filed a lawsuit alleging that the state agency illegally declined to pay for the gender-affirming health care.

"The settlement ensures that members of the SHBP [Georgia State Health Benefit Plan] – employees of the State and their dependents – will now be able to access transgender health care beginning immediately," the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, which is representing the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said in a press release.

According to the press release, the SHBP will include a section in its health plans for state employees that says: "Transgender healthcare coverage generally includes medically necessary transgender surgery and/or other services as deemed medically necessary and appropriate by the member's treating medical personnel, consistent with the Standards of Care of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, also known as WPATH, to treat gender dysphoria in its standards of care, as further explained in [the third-party administrator's] medical policies."

In December, the plaintiffs, Micha Rich and Benjamin Johnson, filed lawsuits against the state's Department of Community Health after they were refused payments for their gender-affirming care. Both Rich and Johnson were state employees. A third individual, identified as Jane Doe, also filed the lawsuit on behalf of her son, John Doe, who was also a state employee. According to the press release, in addition to requiring the state to pay for gender-affirming medical care, the three plaintiffs will receive a "financial settlement totaling $365,000."

Over the past several months, many Republican-led states, including Georgia, have sought to ban gender-affirming medical care for minors. In March, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 140 which blocked gender-affirming surgery and most other gender-affirming medical care for residents under the age of 18.

The bill was later challenged in court but in September a judge ruled that the state could continue its ban on some gender-affirming care such as hormone replacement therapy.

"Denying health care to people because they are transgender is not only clearly wrong – it is also clearly illegal. We strongly hope that this settlement sends a message – loud and clear – that employers must not deny transgender health care coverage to employees, and those who do will pay a high price for it," legal director for the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, David Brown, said in the press release.

Rich also commented on the settlement, saying in the press release that he was "thrilled to know that none of my trans colleagues will ever have to go through what I did."

Newsweek reached out to the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund and the Georgia Department of Community Health via email for comment on Friday.