Transgender medical care decision in federal court could have impacts elsewhere

A new ruling by a federal court in favor of transgender workers has meaning beyond one particular case.

A court has ruled in favor of two transgender UW System employees, who were originally denied insurance coverage for gender confirmation care.

Larry Dupuis is with the Wisconsin ACLU, which provided legal assistance to the two employees in the case.

“It definitely has relevance beyond the state employees who are involved in this case and other state employees who may also need this kind of care,” Dupuis said.

In a decision released Tuesday, the judges in the federal district court of Western Wisconsin determined, in part, that excluding transgender-specific care to the two employees amounted to discrimination and violated federal laws and their constitutional rights.

It’s not exactly a watershed moment for transgender medical care rights but, at the minimum, a new victory.

“It is part of, sort of, the generally momentum and trend that seems to be developing, that it’s important to provide this medically necessary care for people who need it,” Dupuis said. “There is a broad consensus in the medical community that this is medically necessary care and it’s beneficial for people.”

Dupuis and others argued successfully that the state withholding coverage from the employees violated their Constitutional rights.

The decision also determined the state had violated federal non-discrimination laws and that some of the state’s arguments to exclude the care appear unhinged from reality.