Houston Co. appeals federal ruling on transgender discrimination

WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — The legal battle between Houston County and a sheriff’s office investigator could return to court if the county gets what it wants.

Houston County is asking the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to rehear a case involving transgender sheriff’s deputy Anna Lange. She sued the county for denying health care coverage for their sex reassignment surgery.

In May, a panel of federal judges ruled that a provision in the county’s health insurance policy discriminated against transgender employees.

The county’s insurance policy explicitly denied coverage for “services and supplies for gender reassignment and/or gender reassignment reversal” and “medications for gender reassignment surgery.”

In a 2-1 decision, the justices found that this exclusion essentially denied coverage for “medically necessary” care solely because Lange was transgender. They said it was “facially discriminatory” and against the law.

“By drawing a line between gender-affirming surgery and other operations, the plan intentionally creates an exclusion based on transgender status,” the federal appeals court ruled. “Lange’s gender is inextricably linked to the refusal of gender-affirming media coverage.”

This appeal marks a new turning point in the legal saga which has lasted for several years. According to Lange’s attorneys, since they first filed the lawsuit in 2019, Houston County has paid more than $1 million to fight the lawsuit.

The 11th Circuit upheld the 2022 decision of the Macon-based U.S. Middle District of Georgia. The Macon judge also ruled the policy was discriminatory, and a jury ordered the county to pay Lange $60,000 in damages.

But on Monday, Houston County filed another appeal to the 11th Circuit hoping to overturn the court’s May decision.

Houston County says judges misinterpreted federal discrimination laws and past court rulings, and they want all 12 judges on the 11th Circuit to hear the case.

They argue that the exclusion is not discriminatory since it concerns specific treatment and not a protected characteristic, the lawsuit says.

“This shows that coverage depends on the treatment requested, and not WHO requests it,” the county’s attorneys wrote. “Accordingly, the health plan exclusions do not discriminate on the basis of gender or transgender status. »

In the earlier case before the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, the U.S. Department of Justice joined the case and sided with Lange’s attorney that the exclusion was discriminatory.

“Thus, given the “undisputed” fact that the challenged provisions of the plan deny coverage “only to transgender members,” the court found that the plan discriminated on its face on the basis of sex,” the Justice Department wrote .

In the decision, a majority of the 11th Court of Appeals judges who heard the case agreed with the DOJ and Lange’s lawyers.

“Because transgender individuals are the only plan participants who qualify for gender-affirming surgery, the plan denies health care coverage based on transgender status,” the federal appeals court ruled .

Lange had worked for the sheriff’s office since 2006, but then transitioned from male to female in 2017. After delaying the procedure, four of Lange’s doctors recommended “medically necessary” surgery.

Since the procedure would cost $20,000, Lange asked the county health insurance company, BlueCross BlueShield, to cover it. However, according to the DOJ, the insurance company initially approved the procedure because it met its guidelines for medically necessary care.

But after the county reported the exclusion, the insurance company denied Lange’s claim.

In the 11th Circuit’s decision, the judges said the county could no longer enforce the exclusion for gender-affirming surgery.

Now, Houston County wants the 12 11th Circuit judges to reconsider their initial decision and rehear the case.