A group of federal workers have joined a class-action lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s recent decision to prohibit certain insurers from covering gender-affirming care.
According to The Guardian, the lawsuit was filed against the federal Office of Personnel Management by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation and the D.C.-based law firm of Correia & Puth. Attorneys for the plaintiffs say that the new prohibition on gender-affirming care violates Title VII protections against sex-based discrimination.
“Our message to the Trump administration is simple: We’ll see you in court,” said HRCF President Kelley Robinson. “Healthcare access should never be weaponized to advance discrimination—and the denial of coverage for critical healthcare based simply on who you are blatantly violates the rights of all of us.”
The Hill notes that, at the beginning of 2026, the Office of Personnel Management announced that it would eliminate coverage for all chemical and surgical interventions that seek to modify a person’s biological sex traits. The OPM, among other things, manages healthcare plans for federal workers and their beneficiaries. More than eight million Americans receive health benefits through various federal plans, with the recent change expected to impact at least 39,400 enrollees.
Cynthia Cheng-Wun Weaver, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s senior director of litigation, told The Guardian that the Trump administration has long been “fixated” on gender-affirming care.
“A lot of the criticism and attack on this care is for treating minors, but this exclusion is for all ages,” she said.
Speaking to the Guardian, Cheng-Wun Weaver shared the story of one of the case’s pseudonymous plaintiffs, who previously received a gender-affirming surgical procedure; while the procedure itself was covered by their policy, the OPM’s new rule will prevent them from receiving necessary post-surgical care.
“This person is now stuck in this untenable, very unsafe situation, having to decide whether they can actually pay untold amounts of money or risk having serious complications,” Cheng-Wun Weaver said.
“If you have diabetes and you need to receive insulin for treatment that is ongoing—to have it taken away from you, it’s a devastating situation because your health is at stake, and now you have to budget for this care that adds up as you live on,” she said.
Although the OPM has carved out a temporary exception for patients in “mid-treatment,” the lawsuit notes that the government has not clarified exactly what types of treatments will be covered or for how long. Instead, it appears that insurers have been given significant leeway in making their own determinations. The resulting uncertainty, Cheng-Wun Weaver said, is tantamount to intentional “cruelty,” setting the stage for further politically-motivated actions against healthcare.
“If this can happen to a very small population of a country,” she said, “it can happen to anyone else.”
Sources
Trump administration sued for banning gender transition treatments in federal health plans
Trump administration sued for blocking insurance coverage of gender-affirming healthcare
Trump administration sued over ban on trans care coverage for federal workers
Join the conversation!