FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—Three “detransitioners”—men who underwent surgeries in pursuit of a female gender identity but later rejected that identity—filed a legal brief supporting a Florida health agency’s rule preventing Medicaid from reimbursing for transgender medical interventions.
Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration finalized the rule in August 2022, declaring that Medicaid would not cover “puberty blockers,” hormones, “sex reassignment” surgeries, or other procedures that alter primary or secondary sex characteristics.
LGBT and health activist groups led by Lambda Legal represent four young people who identify as transgender and filed a lawsuit in September aiming to block the rule. As part of their lawsuit, the LGBT groups asked the court to temporarily block the rule while it considers the full case. In denying that temporary injunction, the court ruled in October that the case centers on whether Florida’s determination that the transgender interventions are “experimental” is “reasonable.”
In a motion Friday, the Agency for Health Care Administration urged the court to resolve the case by upholding the rule. At the same time, many third parties submitted amicus briefs also urging the court to uphold the rule.
