A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of transgender people in New York who want Medicaid to cover what they consider lifesaving health treatments.
The federal lawsuit was filed Thursday against the state health commissioner. It seeks class-action status on behalf of an estimated 8,000 or more people seeking hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery.
A similar lawsuit was thrown out in 2008. The Legal Aid Society and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project are challenging the state on new legal grounds.
Among other things, they say scientific evidence now conclusively proves that the procedures and treatments are safe and effective.
The state previously had cited serious complications from the surgeries and danger from lifelong administration of estrogen.
A message seeking comment from New York's attorney general was not immediately returned.
