Transgender Citibank Employee Denied Facial Surgery Coverage

A transgender Citibank NA employee lost her lawsuit seeking coverage for gender-confirming facial surgeries, when a Kentucky federal judge ruled the surgeries fall under an exclusion for cosmetic procedures in her Anthem BlueCross & BlueShield plan.

Most of the surgeries sought by Teeanna Polonczyk are procedures to make her facial characteristics appear more feminine, which are deemed cosmetic and medically unnecessary under the terms of her health plan, Judge David L. Bunning of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky ruled Wednesday. And none of Polonczyk’s requested surgeries fall under the gender reassignment procedures specifically covered by ...