Two transgender women are suing the state of Georgia saying they’ve been denied access to gender-affirming health care under its Medicaid program.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the federal lawsuit in Atlanta on behalf of Shon Thomas and Gwendolyn Cheney. Many surgical treatments that are used to treat gender dysphoria are covered by Georgia Medicaid when they are used to treat cis people for other conditions, the lawsuit says. They say Georgia’s Medicaid exclusion “incorrectly characterizes their gender-confirming health care needs as ‘cosmetic’ and ‘experimental or investigational’ when the medical community recognizes that they are effective treatments for gender dysphoria.”
The ACLU says Georgia is one of 10 states that doesn’t allow transgender adults to receive gender-affirming care under Medicaid.
Jeanne Davis reports.
