A group of American federal government workers has launched a formal legal challenge against a Trump administration policy that strips insurance coverage for gender-affirming medical care from federal health programmes.
Legal Challenge Filed with Equal Employment Commission
The complaint was filed on Thursday, 8 December, by the Human Rights Campaign on behalf of the employees. It argues that the new rule, which came into effect the same day, constitutes illegal sex-based discrimination. The workers are asking the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to rescind the policy immediately.
The policy, announced by the OPM in August, eliminates coverage for "chemical and surgical modification of an individual’s sex traits through medical interventions" in health insurance plans for federal employees and US Postal Service workers.
Impact on Federal Workers and Families
The complaint submitted to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission includes testimonies from four current federal employees. They work at the State Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Postal Service.
One postal service employee detailed how the policy directly affects his daughter. Her doctors have recommended puberty blockers and potentially hormone replacement therapy for diagnosed gender dysphoria. Under the new OPM rules, this essential care would no longer be covered.
Kelley Robinson, President of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, stated: "This policy is not about cost or care – it is about driving transgender people and people with transgender spouses, children, and dependents out of the federal workforce."
Broader Context of Transgender Healthcare Restrictions
This lawsuit is the latest development in a series of moves by the Trump administration to restrict access to gender-affirming care, particularly for minors. In December, the US Department of Health and Human Services proposed rules that would block such care for minors.
One proposed policy would bar Medicare and Medicaid funding from hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to children. Senior officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, have labelled this care "malpractice" for young people.
These political restrictions stand in direct opposition to the guidance of leading medical bodies, including the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, which support access to evidence-based gender-affirming treatments.
The federal employees are bringing the claim on behalf of themselves and a wider class of similarly affected government workers, signalling a significant legal battle over healthcare rights and discrimination in the United States.
