West Virginia Health Plan Must Face Transgender Care Bias Claims

A managed care organization that provides services to West Virginia Medicaid recipients must face claims it unlawfully discriminates against transgender people by excluding gender confirming care because it’s a “health program or activity,” a federal trial court said Monday.

The Health Plan of West Virginia falls squarely within Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, which prohibits discrimination in health care, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia said.

A 2020 U.S. Health and Human Services Department rule interpreting Section 1557 as excluding health insurance issuers from its scope isn’t entitled to deference, as the ...