Iowa State University has agreed to settle a discrimination lawsuit brought by a transgender employee for $28,000 after she was denied coverage for transition-related care under her employee health insurance plan.
Elyn Fritz-Waters, a former assistant scientist at the university, was diagnosed with gender dysphoria in 2016, and, on the advice of her primary care provider, was advised to undergo gender confirmation surgery to help treat her dysphoria.
Yet even though the care was deemed medically necessary, Fritz-Waters was still denied coverage due to an insurance exclusion that specifically prohibits coverage for transition-related care.
Fritz-Waters filed a complaint with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission, alleging that the insurance exclusion was discriminatory because it denied her equal access to health care benefits based on her sex and gender identity. She later resigned from her post at the university in February 2017.
The Civil Rights Commission agreed with Fritz-Waters’ claims, and granted her “right-to-sue” status later that year, at which point she filed a lawsuit against the university.
Last Wednesday, the Iowa Appeal Board approved a $27,500 settlement in the case. The university will pay $25,000, and the state government will pick up the remainder of the tab. The state of Iowa did not admit wrongdoing or legal violation as part of the settlement.
After Fritz-Waters filed suit, the Iowa Board of Regents decided to expand insurance coverage to include transition-related care for transgender individuals, Annette Hacker, a university spokeswoman, told the Des Moines Register.
Fights over transgender health care have taken center-stage in recent years. In 2016, an Iowa transgender man was allowed to receive gender confirmation surgery under Medicaid due to a processing error, even though the state continued to refuse to allow other Medicaid recipients to receive coverage for transition-related procedures. Earlier this year, an Iowa jury awarded a transgender man $120,000 for discrimination he faced on the job — including the denial of insurance coverage — due to his gender identity.
In 2017, two transgender women sued the state, arguing that the Medicaid exclusion was discriminatory and unconstitutional. A federal judge ruled in favor of the two women, finding that transition-related procedures deemed medically necessary can be covered by Medicaid. Last week, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law containing a provision that allows local governments and agencies to refuse to use public dollars to pay for surgery, hormones, or other treatments.
Editor's note: This article contains graphic descriptions that may upsetting to readers.
The woman described as the "ringleader" in the killing of transgender man Sam Nordquist in upstate New York has pleaded guilty to state charges, agreeing to a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Precious Arzuaga, 40, faced 11 charges, including first-degree murder, two counts of first-degree kidnapping, second-degree conspiracy, first-degree aggravated sexual abuse, and concealment of a corpse for her role in holding Nordquist captive, torturing him inside a Hopewell motel room, and disposing of his body in the winter of 2025.
"I'm mainly exhausted at this point," Bosco says of the political attacks that have been lobbed against members of the transgender community. "It's just never-ending. It's just this deluge of hate that keeps on happening.
"But the thing with a lot of right-wing talking points is they pick a boogeyman or some sort of scapegoat and they change it about every ten years," the trans drag performer adds. "It's been trans people for a while, it's been Mexican people, it's been Black people, it's been any sort of 'other' that they can then manipulate people into being afraid of, and then they can blame all of the problems in the country on that one group of people. And right now trans people are taking the brunt of it."
The Daughters of the American Revolution voted against a proposal to ban transgender members during the organization's 135th Continental Congress, held June 26 at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C. The proposal would have required applicants to be "born female" to qualify for membership.
The organization limits membership to women aged 18 and older who descend from people who aided the American Revolution. An estimated five transgender women have joined DAR chapters in recent years, sparking debate over whether "daughters" should include people assigned male at birth who identify as women.
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.