News (USA)

Federal employee healthcare providers can no longer exclude transition-related services

Federal employee healthcare providers can no longer exclude transition-related services
Katherine Archuleta
OPM Director Katherine Archuleta

WASHINGTON — Federal Health Benefit Plan providers will no longer be permitted to have blanket exclusions on all transition-related services in their federal employee healthcare plans.

The change, announced Tuesday by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM), will be effective Jan. 1, 2016, and impacts plans that federal employees can select during open enrollment this fall.

“This critical change is a significant step forward in the right direction – one that will help our nation’s transgender civil servants gain access to many of the basic and vitally important healthcare services that they need,” said David Stacy, Government Affairs Director for the Human Rights Campaign. “HRC applauds OPM Director Katherine Archuleta for her strong leadership on this important issue.”

Article continues below

In June of 2014, after working closely with HRC and the National Center for Transgender Equality, OPM announced that it would lift its own ban on transition-related services, which resulted in only three Federal Health Benefit Plan providers offering transition-related coverage.

The federal government employs more than 2 million workers.

Don't forget to share:

Support vital LGBTQ+ journalism

Reader contributions help keep LGBTQ Nation free, so that queer people get the news they need, with stories that mainstream media often leaves out. Can you contribute today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated

Mike Huckabee pledges to block same-sex marriage if elected president

Previous article

Clinton campaign releases new video honoring same-sex couples

Next article