Tennessee sued over state health insurance plans denying transgender health care

Two Tennessee women are suing the state over its public employee health insurance plans after learning their health care policies specifically exclude coverage for gender-affirming care.

Gerda Zinner and Story VanNess, the plaintiffs in the case, realized the gap in the coverage after they scheduled surgeries to address their gender dysphoria and were denied insurance coverage.

"It's very much like what you see in any of the research that you read about: anxiety, depression, increased risk factors," VanNess said at a news conference Thursday morning. "That's what I experience. Gender dysphoria is a pretty powerful thing, and I have not been able to find health care that has allowed me adequate access."

The lawsuit alleges state policies exclude "otherwise covered" treatments except “for, or related to, sex transformations," which the plaintiffs argue is discriminatory and unconstitutional.

VanNess worked as a special education teacher at a Knox County public school from 2016 until 2022, and Zinner is an adviser at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Both accessed Tennessee’s public employee health benefits program through their jobs.

The University of Tennessee and Knox County Board of Education, in addition to several Tennessee insurance committees, are named as defendants in the suit along with the state.

"We have not seen the lawsuit yet, but look forward to reviewing it and vigorously defending the State," said Elizabeth Lane, a spokesperson for the Attorney General's office.

A Knox County Schools spokesperson Carly Harrington said the district cannot comment due to the pending lawsuit.

A spokesperson for the University of Tennessee System said the university generally does not comment on pending lawsuits.

"As a matter of practice, we do not comment on matters under litigation," said Melissa Tindell, a spokesperson for the University of Tennessee System. "The UT System, its campuses and institutes do not have a separate health insurance policy. Our employees are provided the opportunity to participate in the State of Tennessee's health insurance plans."

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Both women filed complaints of sex discrimination with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in August 2022, and each were issued a notice of rights to sue by the Department of Justice in May, according to the lawsuit.

"Unlike all my co-workers, who are cisgender, as a trans woman the health insurance that I pay for — the same as all my co-workers — doesn't give me all the care that I need, because of this discriminatory exclusion," Zinner said. "Because I'm transgender, I have been denied medical treatments that I spent a long time thinking about, and talking with my doctors about. We all agree this is the next step forward."

VanNess left her job last summer, in part because her insurance did not cover the transgender-related procedures she required.

"It was rewarding work," VanNess said. "It was amazing. I loved my students, and they loved me, but I made a difficult decision to leave that work, partly because I was not able to access the same care as the other teachers that I worked alongside. I'm not able to live my life in as fulfilling a way, in a healthy way, due to this discriminatory practice."

Ezra Cukor, the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund attorney representing Zinner and VanNess in the suit, encouraged the state to settle the case and expand insurance coverage.

"Every major medical association agrees, and employers and insurers throughout the South and around the nation cover it," Cukor said. "But the state of Tennessee refuses to cover transgender care for its own hardworking employees and their families just because of who they are."

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Nashville. A federal judge last year ruled against a Georgia county in a similar case, finding its health care policy discriminatory because it only affected transgender employees. LDEF represented the employee, a Houston County sheriff's deputy, in the case.

"Time and time again, courts have ruled that denying health care to people because they're transgender is not only morally wrong, it's also illegal," Cukor said.

Areena Arora and Keenan Thomas in Knoxville contributed to this report.

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Tennessee transgender health care: State sued over coverage