Two different federal courts granted rulings last week in favor of allowing transgender people to access the medically necessary care prescribed to them by their doctors.
The rulings confirm the Affordable Care Act’s protections on the basis of sex extend to transgender people.
In Wisconsin, two University of Wisconsin employees challenged an exclusion to the Uniform Benefits established by the state’s Government Insurance Board. The exclusion prohibited coverage ...
lgbtq
Delaware primary offers Democratic voters two diverging green visions for the future
Democratic voters in Delaware heading to the polls on Thursday will face a choice that has become increasingly familiar this primary season: casting a vote for a long-secure incumbent, or opting for a surging challenge from the left.
On environmental issues, that decision could be especially fraught, with both of the state’s Senate candidates offering competing green visions for the future.
Sen. Tom Carper, a former governor, has held his seat since 2001 and typically s...
Parkland mom wins school board seat and other election night stories you may have missed
Much of the coverage of Tuesday night’s primaries revolved around Andrew Gillum’s upset victory in the Florida Democratic gubernatorial primary. Gillum, the only non-millionaire or billionaire in the race, ran on the most progressive platform, including abolishing ICE and establishing Medicare for all.
If Gillum wins in November, he’ll be the first black governor of Florida. He becomes the third black gubernatorial nominee this election cycle, in addition to Stacey...
BREAKING: Christine Hallquist wins primary, becomes first transgender gubernatorial nominee
Gubernatorial candidate Christine Hallquist has won Vermont’s Democratic primary race, becoming the first openly transgender gubernatorial candidate from a major political party in the United States.
At the time of publication, she was leading the four-person pack by about 25 percent. She will face incumbent Republican Gov. Phil Scott in November.
BREAKING: Christine Hallquist wins Democratic nomination for governor in Vermont primary election. #APracecal...
Health and Human Services Department removes website’s language on sex discrimination
The Office for Civil Rights at the Department of Health and Human Services changed or removed information on its website about sex discrimination, according to a new report from the Sunlight Foundation.
The Office for Civil Rights altered this information on several webpages on Section 1557, part of the Affordable Care Act that relates to sex discrimination, between March and August 2017, according to the nonprofit focused on government transparency. Now, mentions of sex discriminat...
Maine governor ignores major medical organizations, vetoes bill to ban conversation therapy
A growing number of states are moving to ban conversion therapy — dubious, often shame-based methods to persuade kids to change their sexual orientation or gender identity — but Maine’s governor isn’t interested in joining the trend.
Gov. Paul LePage (R) on Friday became the first governor in the nation to veto such a ban, after the Maine legislature approved it last month.
In his veto message, LePage argued the legislation was overly broad and could p...
Iowa judge overturns state’s ban on Medicaid covering transgender medical procedures
An Iowa judge has overturned the state’s ban on allowing Medicaid to cover the costs of surgical procedures for transgender people. In his ruling Thursday, Chief District Judge Arthur Gamble ordered the Iowa Department of Human Services (DHS) to immediately approve Medicaid coverage for the two petitioners, Carol Ann Beal and EerieAnna Good.
Both Beal and Good had already changed all of their documentation to reflect their identities, but were denied coverage for medically nec...
Trans people suffer from higher rates of suicide. Why are hospitals letting them down?
Lying in a psychosis ward bed, Amelia Perry couldn’t shake thoughts of suicide. The noise blaring from other patients in the hallway and the bright lights above felt like too much. Perry, a 25-year-old trans person, was in the hospital seeking help.
Days earlier, Perry (who asked at admission to be identified by gender-neutral pronouns ze and hir) had been discharged from another nearby hospital following a week-long stay after attempting suicide. That’s how Perry ende...
Two transgender residents sue Wisconsin over discriminatory Medicaid rule
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) refused to cover Cody Flack’s top surgery.
Top surgery, a common reference for chest reconstruction surgery for transgender patients, is a widely accepted and effective surgical procedure for treating gender dysphoria. But DHS told Flack, who was born female but identifies as male, last summer that the procedure isn’t covered by Wisconsin’s Medicaid program. The state contends the surgery is “medically unneces...
Pence secretly drafted Trump’s latest transgender military ban
When President Trump announced a new ban on transgender people serving in the military late Friday, it was somewhat of a surprise — Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had reportedly recommended in February that Trump allow transgender people to serve. It turns out that Vice President Pence and some of the country’s most prominent anti-LGBTQ activists had a role in reversing the outcome, which explains why the report explaining the decision is rife with anti-trans junk science.
Slate...