Overview
- A three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit on March 10 unanimously upheld West Virginia’s prohibition on Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming surgeries for adults.
- The Republican-appointed judges reversed the court’s 2024 ruling after the Supreme Court directed reconsideration following its Tennessee decision on care for minors.
- The panel reasoned the law targets procedures rather than people and described the surgeries as “experimental” and “dangerous.”
- Reuters reported this is the first federal appeals court decision to uphold a restriction on healthcare coverage for transgender adults.
- Major U.S. medical organizations support gender-affirming care as safe and effective, critics condemned the ruling, and a similar North Carolina case is now before the court.