The state of Wisconsin must pay two transgender women over $700k because the state did not cover sex reassignment surgery.Last month, U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled that a ban on transgender medical procedures was discriminatory and that the state must add coverage for sex reassignment medical care. That will turn out to be a costly proposition for Wisconsin, since their insurance companies will have to figure in up to $150k in medical costs for every person who wants to change sexes. The costs will ultimately full upon the shoulders of the taxpayers.
“Discrimination comes with a cost, and for the state of Wisconsin the bill has come,” Larry Dupuis, legal director of the Wisconsin ACLU, told the State Journal in a statement.
Last year, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on behalf of Shannon Andrews, a cancer researcher at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, and Alina Boyden, a University of Wisconsin graduate student.
The AU claimed that the insurance coverage ban for transgender treatments was in violation of their civil rights.
The jury’s decision to award damages in the lawsuit was based on Conley’s ruling as a matter of law.
Andrews was awarded $479,500 and Boyden was awarded $301,000 for medical reimbursement and emotional pain and suffering.
Can the federal employees be far behind? This will lead to higher premiums. Much higher than even Obamacare. The coverage could cost taxpayers as much as $1,400 dollars a year more for their medical insurance. While it’s true that a doctor has to certify that the operation is medically necessary, those doctors who make the determination are the same ones who profit from the procedure.