The Iowa Supreme Court unanimously ruled on Friday in favor of two transgender women, effectively striking down the state’s ban on Medicaid coverage for sex reassignment surgery.
The case involved EerieAnna Good and Carol Anne Beal, two women whose medical providers determined that sex reassignment surgery was necessary to treat their gender dysphoria. Yet when Good and Beal — who have identified as female since childhood — sought to have surgery under the state’s Medicaid program, they were denied. They appealed to the state agency, which oversees the program, but were rejected again.
“So many people still don’t understand that this is not something we need for trivial or cosmetic reasons,” Good said. “It’s medical care a doctor is recommending for someone who has a medical need for it.”
Good and Beal sued the agency in 2017. In June, Judge Arthur Gamble of the Judicial District 5 Court ruled that a 1995 Iowa Department of Human Services policy denying Medicaid coverage for sex reassignment surgery violates the state’s 2007 Civil Rights Act, which added gender identity to the state’s list of protected classes.
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Charlie Neibergall / AP file
