Trans military group sues Veterans Affairs to pay for gender-affirming surgeries

The Transgender American Veterans Association (TAVA) has filed a second lawsuit against the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) because the department’s health benefits won’t pay for former service members’ gender-affirming surgeries.

The TAVA originally sued the VA in early January to force the department to consider its 2016 petition asking the VA to cover the surgeries. VA Secretary Denis McDonough — who said in June 2021 that the VA would soon cover the surgeries — declined to fulfill the petition’s request. The VA has seemingly taken no steps toward covering the surgeries; McDonough said the department’s rulemaking process would take at least two years to start paying for the procedures.

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I’m a veteran. I’m a nurse. And I’m transgender.

I was devoted to defending the freedoms that all Americans hold dear. On this Transgender Day of Remembrance, I’m asking Congress to do the same.

TAVA’s new lawsuit states that the VA’s refusal to cover transitional surgeries “defies clear medical consensus” and discriminates based on sex and transgender status, according to The Hill. The lawsuit asks the court to review the VA’s refusal of TAVA’s 2016 petition and to direct the VA to begin covering the surgeries.

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“Gender-affirming surgery is not a choice for many transgender individuals — it’s often a critical part of our care that healthcare professionals consider medically necessary. Denying us access to these puts our lives at risk,” said TAVA Vice President Josie Caballero about the new lawsuit.

“VA’s refusal to provide gender-affirming surgery is an affront to the dignity and well-being of transgender veterans,” Caballero added. “TAVA will not stand idly by as VA continues to discriminate against and breaks its promises to transgender veterans.”

Currently, the VA’s health benefits cover some forms of gender-affirming healthcare, including hormone replacement therapy, talk therapy, and some other services, but not surgery. The surgeries have been explicitly excluded from the VA’s coverage since 2013, even though numerous studies show that such procedures positively impact trans people’s overall well-being.

It’s estimated that over 134,000 American veterans are transgender, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality. TAVA filed its lawsuit on Monday in Washington, D.C.’s U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.