Transgender Medicaid Patients Notch Big Win in Iowa (1)

Iowa Medicaid’s refusal to pay for transgender patients’ gender-affirming surgeries violates the Iowa Civil Rights Act’s ban on gender-identity discrimination, the state’s highest court said.

The Iowa Supreme Court March 8 stopped short of saying the Iowa Department of Human Services’s denial of coverage for surgical procedures related to gender identity disorders violates the state’s Constitution. Instead, it relied on the state’s choice to add “gender identity” to a list of characteristics protected by its anti-discrimination law.

Alaska, Georgia, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee, and Wisconsin have policies explicitly excluding transgender health coverage and care, though at least one ...