In a major win for transgender rights, the Richmond, Virginia-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit became the first such judicial body in the country to rule that state healthcare plans must pay for gender-affirming surgeries, The Washington Post reported.
The April 29 decision—which could be appealed to the Supreme Court—came from cases out of North Carolina and West Virginia, where state officials contended that their policies were based on cost concerns and not discrimination. The court rejected that argument, saying the plans were discriminating against trans people in need of treatment.
Reuters noted that the opinion carried eight to six.
President Bill Clinton appointee Judge Roger L. Gregory wrote for the majority that the restrictions were "obviously discriminatory" based on both sex and gender. Gregory stated that, "In this case, discriminating on the basis of diagnosis is discriminating on the basis of gender identity and sex," because "gender dysphoria is so intimately related to transgender status as to be virtually indistinguishable from it."
It's the second ruling in favor of trans rights this month from the 4th Circuit. The court also sided with a 13-year-old trans girl in ruling that trans students had a right to use the bathrooms that align with their gender identity, becoming the first to recognize gender dysphoria as a protected disability.
—Andrew Davis