HHS Sued Over Rule Requiring Health Care Providers to Perform ‘Gender Transition’ Procedures

Montana and Texas AGs on Tuesday filed a lawsuit over a rule that says providers must pay for “gender transition” procedures if they receive federal funds

Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee in Washington on Nov. 8, 2023. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

The attorneys general of Montana and Texas on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Xavier Becerra, Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), over a rule that says states must pay for “gender transition” procedures through their Medicaid programs and requires health care providers who receive federal funding to perform such procedures even in violation of state law.

The complaint, filed on June 11 with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Tyler Division, asks the court to block a new rule recently published by HHS in the Federal Register that modifies non-discrimination protections of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in a way that expands the definition of “sex” discrimination to include discrimination based on “gender identity.”