FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 18, 2022

Media Contacts:

ACLU: Gillian Branstetter, email hidden; JavaScript is required

ACLU of Georgia: Dorrie Toney, email hidden; JavaScript is required

King & Spalding: Michelle Tang, email hidden; JavaScript is required

 

ATLANTA – The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Georgia, and the law firm of King & Spalding has settled a lawsuit with the Georgia Department of Community Health over its categorical exclusion of coverage for gender-affirming surgery in the State of Georgia’s Medicaid program. The settlement in Thomas et al. v. Georgia Department of Community Health et al. means that transgender Georgia Medicaid beneficiaries living with gender dysphoria can now access lifesaving, gender-affirming surgical care.

As part of the settlement, the Georgia Department of Community Health agreed to remove the exclusion for gender-affirming surgery from Georgia Medicaid and, like all other medical care provided in the program, provide the care when it is medically necessary for an individual. It further agreed to adopt benefits and clinical guidelines for the treatment of gender dysphoria, including benefits for gender-affirming surgical care.

“Gender-affirming surgeries are safe, effective, and medically necessary,” said Taylor Brown, staff attorney with the ACLU LGBTQ & HIV Project. “The ability to obtain gender-affirming surgical care, regardless of socioeconomic status, is an important factor in eliminating systemic health disparities and inequities that many transgender people face. This settlement brings the state of Georgia’s Medicaid program in line with the accepted standards of care and the law. The removal of the exclusion of benefits, that are already available for cisgender beneficiaries, for transgender Georgia Medicaid beneficiaries in need of gender-affirming care will save lives.”

“Denying necessary health care because an individual is transgender is discriminatory and unconstitutional,” said Nneka Ewulonu, staff attorney with the ACLU of Georgia. “This settlement will give low-income transgender Georgians on Medicaid—who are disproportionately likely to be Black—access to gender-affirming care for the first time in over 20 years. We are thrilled for our clients and the transgender community in Georgia.” 

The lawsuit was filed June 24, 2021 on behalf of Delshone Thomas and Gwendolyn Cheney, transgender women and Georgia Medicaid beneficiaries who were denied gender-affirming surgical care for the treatment of gender dysphoria. The lawsuit challenged Georgia’s ban on gender-affirming surgeries as being in violation of the U.S. Constitution, the Affordable Care Act, and the federal Medicaid Act. The lawsuit was settled April 26, 2022 following court-facilitated mediation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. 

“LGBTQ people face immense difficulties accessing affordable health care,” said Eric Paulk, deputy director of Georgia Equality, a nonprofit that advances fairness, safety and opportunity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. “This is especially true for Black transgender and gender-diverse individuals. By expanding access to gender-affirming surgery and other treatments for people who rely on healthcare coverage through Medicaid, we begin to chip away barriers to care. We know that gender-affirming care is medically necessary care. This settlement moves us closer to more equitably delivered health care in Georgia.” 

While the actual removal of the exclusion from the Georgia Medicaid State Health Plan will take a few months, transgender Georgia Medicaid beneficiaries should now be able to apply for coverage of gender-affirming surgical care through their providers. It is important that either Georgia Medicaid beneficiaries or their providers obtain the clinical guidelines for the treatment of gender dysphoria from Georgia Medicaid to ensure eligibility criteria has been met and all required documentation is submitted. 

###

We’d like to thank all of the sponsors and host committee members who made this year’s Evening for Equality so successful.

Thanks to you we raised nearly $110,000!

 

Click HERE to View the Evening for Equality Photo Album

 

PRESENTING SPONSOR:

Hansgrohe

 

PLATINUM SPONSORS:

The Coca-Cola Company

AIDS Healthcare Foundation

 

GOLD SPONSORS:

WellsFargo

FairFight

 

SILVER SPONSORS:

COX

Making Projects Work, inc

The Wine Group

 

BRONZE SPONSOR:

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation

 

---

SMALL BUSINESS HOST:

Blue Ghost Adventures

Giacoma Roberts & Daughdrill, LLC

Kathleen Womack, Attorney at Law

---

NONPROFIT PARTNERS:

Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition

Atlanta Pride Committee

Counter Narrative Project

Democratic Party of Georgia

The Epiphany Center

NARAL Pro-Choice Georgia

Positive Impact Health Centers

SOJOURN: Southern Jewish Resource Network for Gender and Sexual Diversity

St. Mark United Methodist Church

ThriveSS

---

THE 2022 HOST COMMITTEE:

Rev. David Alexander – Spiritual Living Center of Atlanta

Krista Brewer & Gary Flack

Ken Britt

Harold Brody & Don Smith

Wendi & Kim Clifton

Dr. Kathleen Connors & the WellRefugee Center

Lilly Correa

Jason Esteves for State Senate

Glen Paul Freedman

Mayor Joseph Geierman & B.J. Abbott

Brandon Goldberg

Nancy Goodman & Carla Rozier

Jeff Graham

Jon Greaves

Michael Grover & Nunzio Lupo

Harry Harkins

Amanda Hill-Attkisson

Currey Hitchens for State Superintendent of Schools

Rep. Scott Holcomb

Brian Hankins, in memory of Roger Park

Nicole Horn for Labor Commissioner

Paul Horning

Rev. Senator Kim Jackson & Imam Trina Jackson

Angel & Vangie Jones

Senator Harold Jones II

Rep. Angelika Kausche

Patricia Lassiter

Jeff McCord & Jef Blocker

V.L. Roof (posthumously) & Thomas Menear

Kenyatta & Jamal Mitchell

Sandy Mollett & Jennifer Falco

Chris Morter

Senator Nan Orrock

James L Paulk

Kevin Perry

Rep. Shea Roberts

Jamie & Becky Roberts-Rafter

Beth Schapiro & Janet Womack

Dr. Michael Shutt & Brian Madej

Floyd Taylor & Mauricio Clavio Carmona

Benjamin M. Williams

Congresswoman Nikema Williams & Leslie Small

Rep. Matthew Wilson & Robert Poole

Cathy Woolard & Karen Geney