DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Two transgender women are suing an Iowa agency over the state’s ban on Medicaid coverage for sex reassignment-related medical services.
Carol Ann Beal of northwest Iowa and EerieAnna Good of the Quad Cities filed the lawsuit Thursday, saying the ban by the Iowa Department of Human Services violates patients’ rights to equal protection promised by the state constitution and the Iowa Civil Rights Act, The Des Moines Register reported .
Gender identity and sexual orientation became protected classes under the Iowa Civil Rights Act in 2007. Transgender residents are protected against discriminations in education, employment, housing and public accommodations under the statute. The lawsuit challenges the ban under the public accommodation provision.
Iowa’s Medicaid code bans sex reassignment surgeries, saying they’re “cosmetic, reconstructive or plastic surgery.”
Rita Bettis is the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa, which is representing the women. She said the ban is unfair because transgender patients aren’t covered for some surgeries that non-transgender Iowa residents are, such as mastectomies.
Dr. Joe Freund, who performs transition surgeries in the state, said medical intervention can be necessary for some transgender patients.
“There is a tremendous amount of damage that is done to someone when their body does not match who they are,” Freund said. “People don’t understand how very important this is. . It is costing people their lives.”
Some transgender patients can experience extreme depression, anxiety and have suicidal thoughts if they don’t have surgery, he said.
“You go through so many years transitioning, and now I hit a brick wall with Iowa’s discriminatory ban on Medicaid coverage for transition-related care,” Beal said. “It has caused me stress and depression and affects every aspect of my life.”
The Iowa Department of Human Services declined to comment on the lawsuit, citing pending litigation.
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Information from: The Des Moines Register, https://www.desmoinesregister.com
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