Plaintiff Micha RichPhoto: Teeter Tomlin/Courtesy TLDEF
Several transgender people and their families have sued the state of Georgia in federal court after it refused to include gender-affirming care for transgender people in its health care coverage for state employees and their families, known as the Georgia State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP). is. .
“I love my job, I love what I do and that I get to serve the community,” said Micha Rich, the lead plaintiff in the Rich v. Georgia lawsuit. He works for the Georgia Department of Audits and Accounts. “But my employer shouldn’t be able to deny me health care because that’s who I am. For years I had to put off living my life to the fullest while waiting for the medical treatments that my doctors and I knew I needed.”
The lawsuit states that Rich has been living as a man for years and that his therapist believes he needs gender-affirming surgery. But when a surgeon he found tried to get pre-authorization from SHBP for his surgery so the procedure would be covered, she was denied. SHBP sent a letter specifically saying that “sex reassignment surgeries and related services” were not covered by the plan.
Although it is likely that the operation would have been covered if it served a different purpose, this was denied because Rich is transgender.
He eventually had surgery and had to go into debt — and eventually file for bankruptcy — to pay the $11,200 bill.
He was also recently told that his testosterone would no longer be covered by his insurance, even though he has been taking T since 2018.
Benjamin Johnson, another plaintiff, works as a media clerk for the Bibb County school district. SHBP also denied pre-approval for its top surgery, citing the same exclusion for gender-affirming care. He eventually dropped the plan and took out insurance through an insurance swap.
Two other plaintiffs are identified only as John and Jane Doe in the lawsuit. Jane Doe works for the state and her son John Doe has health insurance. His operation was denied pre-approval, but Blue Cross Blue Shield, which runs their plan, refused to send even a letter of denial so they could appeal.
The Does went into debt to pay for the surgery and the mother said it was “worth it” because her son has “become a whole new person” who is now “proud of his body” and “happier, more confident and more” be social like never before.”
“Receiving the top surgery was one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself,” the son says in the complaint. “I feel better about myself in all aspects of my life.”
“If I hadn’t had top surgery, I guess I’d be the same depressed, consistently misgendered, insecure guy I was before.”
The lawsuit cites the Supreme Court’s 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which said that the prohibition on sex discrimination in Title VII also prohibits discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in the workplace.
“Time and again, courts have ruled that denying people health care because they are transgender is not only clearly wrong, it is also clearly illegal,” said Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF) legal director David Brown in one Explanation. TLDEF is helping to represent the plaintiffs in the case. “We won a landmark victory on this very issue a few months ago, and we are confident that the courts will once again make the right decision – that there is no place for discrimination in Georgia.”
He was referring to Lange v. Houston County, where a federal judge ruled that a transgender sheriff’s deputy in Georgia is entitled to equal health care.
