Georgia County Appeals Federal Ruling on Transgender Deputy's Surgery Coverage

Houston County argues Supreme Court ruling on transgender rights doesn't apply to health insurance, while Lange's lawyers and the Justice Department maintain the denial of coverage is discriminatory.

• Sgt. Anna Lange, a transgender sheriff's deputy in Houston County, Georgia, was denied insurance coverage for her gender-affirmation surgery by the county.
• In 2022, U.S. District Court Judge Marc Treadwell ruled that the county's refusal to cover Lange's surgery amounted to illegal sex discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, citing a 2020 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
• The county is now appealing this ruling, arguing that the Supreme Court decision doesn't apply to health insurance and that its exclusion of gender-affirmation surgery isn't discriminatory because the plan pays for some other treatments.
• Lange's lawyers and the U.S. Department of Justice, which intervened on Lange's behalf, argue that the county's refusal to cover the surgery is discriminatory and violates Title VII of the 1964 civil rights law.
• Lange was awarded $60,000 in damages in 2022, which the county also seeks to undo.

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