gender dysphoria

The Biden administration urged an appeals court to uphold a ruling that Florida violated federal law by blocking coverage for people seeking hormone therapy and puberty blockers.

Ron DeSantis’ record as Florida governor provides some clues to how he would change the health care landscape if elected president.

Should the nation’s highest court agree to take the case, it would mark the first time the justices will weigh in on the debate surrounding restrictions on puberty blockers and hormone therapy for minors.

AHCA lawyers argued the state is not enforcing the rule as a “categorical ban” on coverage because Medicaid patients could seek variances or waivers through an administrative process.

In issuing the order, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that the “case will turn almost entirely on common issues” with common answers.

Republican attorneys general from across the country and major medical organizations are trying to help sway a federal appeals court as it considers Florida restrictions.

The Richmond-based 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in cases involving coverage of gender-affirming care by North Carolina’s state employee health plan and the coverage of gender-affirming surgery by West Virginia Medicaid.

In Missouri and North Dakota, health systems and advocates say the reason is the possibility of legal action against doctors and their employers for injuries related to the treatment, even many years later.

The state cites the 11th Circuit appellate panel's decision in a "virtually identical case" in asking the court to allow a law preventing minors from receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapy.

Judge Robert Hinkle ruled that adults seeking to expand his injunction on minors haven’t proven they would be irreparably harmed until the case is resolved.