West Virginia asks to take Medicaid sex reassignment care case to Supreme Court
(The Center Square) – West Virginia is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and allow the state to stop covering sex reassignment surgeries under Medicaid.
A federal district court and appeals court ruled West Virginia could not bar the coverage.
West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s office claims the procedures, such as chest surgeries and vaginoplasties, can cost tens of thousands of dollars and state’s should have wide discretion on what procedures are covered under Medicaid, with most states choosing not to cover the procedures.
“Under Medicaid, states have wide discretion to determine what procedures their programs can cover based on cost and other concerns,” Morrisey said. “Our state should have the ability to determine how to spend our resources to care for the vital medical needs of our citizens.”
Morrisey announced the petition at a press conference on Thursday afternoon, saying the state is looking to ensure it can cover people with heart disease, diabetes and other medical conditions.
“We’re not a rich state, we can’t afford to do everything,” Morrisey said. “… There’s only so much money to go around and spending money on some treatments necessarily takes it away from others.”
Lambda Legal is representing lead plaintiff Shauntae Anderson in the lawsuit to require West Virginia to cover the treatments.
“Accessing Medicaid coverage for gender-confirming care is vital to the livelihood and survival of myself and other transgender community members. West Virginia’s choice to appeal with the hope to deny us life-saving medical care is both demoralizing and shameful,” Anderson said in a 2023 statement on the case.
