North Carolina can’t deny gender-affirming services to state employees who receive health insurance through the state’s health care plan, a federal judge ruled Friday in a major victory for transgender rights advocates.
U.S. District Judge Loretta C. Biggs agreed with the plaintiffs who argued that the North Carolina State Health Plan for Teachers and State Employees discriminated against them for its “categorical exclusion” of gender-affirming treatments.
The court found that the plan’s exclusion “discriminates based on sex and transgender status in violation of the Equal Protection Clause and discriminates because of sex in violation of Title VII (of the Civil Rights Act of 1964),” which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin.
