BY COMFORT OGBONNA
A group of U.S. federal government employees on Thursday filed a class action complaint challenging a new policy by President Donald Trump’s administration that removes coverage for gender-affirming care from federal health insurance programs. The legal action marks another escalation in ongoing disputes over healthcare access and protections for transgender people under the current administration.
The complaint was filed by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation against the U.S. Office of Personnel Management on behalf of affected federal employees. The lawsuit comes as the policy officially took effect at the start of the new year, immediately changing the scope of benefits available to federal workers and U.S. Postal Service employees enrolled in government health plans.
According to the filing, the Office of Personnel Management informed insurers in an August letter that beginning in 2026, federal health insurance programs would no longer cover what it described as “chemical and surgical modification of an individual’s sex traits through medical interventions.” This directive applies broadly across plans offered to federal employees, effectively ending insurance coverage for gender-affirming medical care that had previously been available.
The complaint argues that the policy unlawfully discriminates on the basis of sex and disproportionately harms transgender employees and their families. It seeks to have the policy rescinded and asks for compensation for economic losses suffered by affected workers, along with other legal remedies. The plaintiffs contend that the removal of coverage forces individuals to either forgo medically necessary care or pay substantial out-of-pocket costs, creating unequal treatment within the federal workforce.
Officials at the Office of Personnel Management were not immediately available to comment on the lawsuit.
The Human Rights Campaign Foundation stated that if the dispute cannot be resolved through administrative channels with OPM, the plaintiffs intend to pursue class claims before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The group also signaled that it may move forward with a broader class action lawsuit in federal court if necessary.
The case is part of a wider legal and political battle over the Trump administration’s approach to gender-affirming care and transgender rights. Last month, a coalition of Democratic state attorneys general filed a separate lawsuit seeking to block proposed federal rules that would limit children’s access to gender-affirming medical care, arguing that the measures are unlawful and harmful.
In addition, U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has proposed regulations that would bar hospitals providing gender-affirming care to children from participating in Medicaid and Medicare. The proposals would also prohibit the Children’s Health Insurance Program from covering such care, further tightening restrictions at the federal level.
Together, these legal challenges underscore the intensifying debate over healthcare policy, civil rights, and the role of the federal government in regulating medical care for transgender individuals, with courts increasingly becoming the battleground for determining the outcome.
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