US federal workers challenge Trump policy on gender-affirming care

Jan 1 (Reuters) – A group of federal government employees on Thursday filed a class action complaint against President Donald Trump’s administration over a new policy that will eliminate coverage for gender-affirming care in federal health insurance programs.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation made the complaint against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management on behalf of the federal employees as the new policy took effect with the start of the new year. 

OPM in an August letter stated that in 2026 “chemical and surgical modification of an individual’s sex traits through medical interventions” will no longer be covered under health insurance programs for federal employees and U.S. postal workers.

OPM officials could not be reached for immediate comment.

The complaint argues that the policy is discriminatory on the basis of sex. It asks that the policy be rescinded and seeks payment for economic damages and other relief.

If the issue is not resolved with the OPM, the foundation said that plaintiffs will pursue class claims before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and potentially pursue a class action lawsuit in federal court.

A group of Democratic state attorneys general last month sued the Trump administration to block proposed rules that would cut children’s access to gender-affirming care, the latest court battle over Trump’s efforts to eliminate legal protections for transgender people.

U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has proposed rules that would bar hospitals that provide gender-affirming care to children from Medicaid and Medicare and prohibit the Children’s Health Insurance Program from paying for it.

(Reporting by Karen Brettell in New York; editing by Scott Malone and Nick Zieminski)