Vet sues over coverage denial for daughter gender transition in Maine

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A U.S. navy veteran and his daughter filed a lawsuit on Monday difficult a federal rule they stated prevents the daughter from accessing medical protection as a result of she is transgender.

The veteran and daughter filed their lawsuit towards the federal government anonymously through GLBTQ Authorized Advocates & Defenders, a Boston-based advocacy group. The group’s courtroom submitting stated the daughter has been denied therapies really helpful by medical doctors on account of a federal statute that dates to 1976 that mandates exclusion of surgical therapies for gender transition within the navy’s medical protection for the dependents of service members.

The statute is an antiquated rule based mostly on outdated views of transgender folks, and hanging it from the books can be vital for many individuals looking for to entry care, stated Ben Klein, an lawyer with GLAD.

“We will safely say that is the primary time the statute has been challenged. It might have an effect on an enormous variety of folks,” Klein stated. “A victory on this case would be certain that all dependents of navy personnel who’re transgender would have entry to the vital medical care they want, freed from discrimination of exclusion.”

The defendants within the lawsuit embody the U.S. Division of Protection and Protection Secretary Lloyd Austin. The plaintiffs, who dwell in Maine, filed their lawsuit in U.S. District Court docket for the District of Maine in Portland. The lawsuit requires the exclusion rule to be declared unconstitutional and in addition states that the plaintiffs need damages.

Representatives for the U.S. Division of Protection declined to touch upon the lawsuit and deferred to the U.S. Division of Justice, which might characterize the company within the case. Justice Division representatives didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from The Related Press.

The lawsuit states that the veteran served for 23 years within the Marine Corps and Air Drive. His daughter is a 21-year-old transgender lady who has been identified with gender dysphoria and sought gender transition surgical procedure to handle the situation, the lawsuit states.

The swimsuit states that the daughter, who is simply known as Jane Doe, is entitled to obtain well being care advantages by way of the navy’s TRICARE well being plan, which is a program of the Protection Division’s Navy Well being System. It states that she “has been and continues to be unable to acquire protection as a TRICARE beneficiary” for gender transition surgical procedure due to the 1976 rule.

The lawsuit states that the daughter has additionally incurred prices and sought various medical insurance due to earlier improper denials of protection by the defendants. Her request for protection of therapies together with laser hair elimination and electrolysis had been beforehand denied, the lawsuit states.