A transgender Iowa man will receive medically necessary surgery under the state’s Medicaid program due to a claims processing error, but other transgender people will continue to be barred from having gender confirmation surgery covered under an existing ban on transition-related procedures.
Andrew Evans, an Iowa resident with coverage under the state’s Medicaid program, was seeking to have surgery to treat his gender dysphoria, and had enlisted the help of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Iowa in his fight. In a surprise development on Monday, Amerigroup, one of Iowa’s private Medicaid providers, agreed to cover Evans’ surgery.
But while Evans’ medical providers had concluded that the surgery was medically necessary, Amerigroup never reached that conclusion. Rather, Amerigroup said it would pay for the procedure because it failed to process Evans’ request — which would have been denied — in a timely manner. As a result, Amerigroup said it would cover the surgery “as if it were authorized” in order to “amicably resolve” the situation.
The ACLU has long argued that bans prohibiting Medicaid from covering gender confirmation or transition-related surgery are discriminatory, as the program will cover identical procedures for cisgender people. A similar ban in Minnesota was recently struck down as unconstitutional for exactly that reason.
While the ACLU of Iowa celebrated Evans’ victory, it also slammed the state for continuing to keep the ban on transition-related surgery in place.
“It’s a core Iowa value to treat all people fairly,” Rita Bettis, the legal director of the ACLU of Iowa, said in a statement. “Iowa’s discriminatory ban on Medicaid coverage for the medical care that transgender people need is inconsistent with basic fairness. It needs to go.”
Bettis also encouraged other transgender people on Medicaid who have been denied coverage for medically necessary transition-related surgery to contact the ACLU of Iowa. Because Evans’ case has been resolved, the organization cannot currently pursue a lawsuit challenging the ban until another person can show they were legally “injured” by the denial of coverage.
“We are pleased that Evans’ surgery will be covered,” Donna Red Wing, the executive director of the LGBT organization One Iowa, said in a statement. “However, we continue to be concerned that exclusions for transgender surgery and other trans-related health care continue in Iowa and across the nation. One way to ensure transgender people have access to quality health care is for our insurance companies to remove those exclusions.”
The ACLU is currently suing over another transgender man’s request for medically necessary surgery to treat his gender dysphoria. However, that client, Jesse Vroegh, an employee at the Iowa Department of Corrections, is not on Medicaid, but has been denied coverage for surgery by Wellmark Blue Cross, his employer-sponsored insurance provider.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has begun enforcing a new rule requiring airlines to ignore any "X" gender markers on passports and instead enter either "M" or "F" for all passengers.
Announced in a July 7 bulletin, CBP said the rule stems from an earlier executive order by former President Donald Trump aimed at eliminating recognition of transgender identities. The directive took effect on July 14, with airlines given 90 days to comply before full enforcement.
Now in effect, the rule has sparked widespread concern over how it will be implemented in practice.
Reports that the person who fatally shot conservative activist Charlie Kirk had left behind bullet casings engraved with phrases espousing "transgender ideology" have been debunked.
The rumor spread quickly after conservative commentator Steven Crowder posted to X on the morning of September 11 -- the day after the shooting -- claiming he had received an email from a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives officer describing such engravings.
Crowder shared what he said was an email from an ATF officer claiming investigators had recovered the weapon used in Kirk's killing, with one spent cartridge in the chamber and three rounds still in the magazine. The email further alleged the cartridges were engraved with "transgender and anti-fascist ideology."
A new survey finds that many LGBTQ Americans -- especially transgender and nonbinary people -- have altered their lives in response to a wave of anti-LGBTQ laws and rhetoric sweeping the country, with many reporting serious harm to their mental health and overall wellbeing.
Conducted from May 29 to June 13 by NORC’s AmeriSpeak panel for the Movement Advancement Project, the online survey polled 1,055 LGBTQ adults nationwide, including 111 who identified as transgender or nonbinary.
Operated by NORC at the University of Chicago, AmeriSpeak is a probability-based panel designed to reflect the U.S. household population. Randomly selected households are contacted through mail, email, phone, or in-person interviews.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.