Arizona’s prohibition of Medicaid coverage for male chest reconstruction surgery illegally denies medically necessary surgical care to transgender beneficiaries, a proposed class action filed Thursday in federal court alleges.
Two transgender Arizona teens sued on behalf of themselves and similarly situated individuals who had been denied coverage for chest reconstruction surgery recommended by their health care providers, based on an exclusion in the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System.
Both plaintiffs, ages 15 and 17, were diagnosed with gender dysphoria, and though identified as female at birth, are male and live as male in every aspect of their lives, the ...