Federal employees challenge Trump administration over gender‑affirming care coverage cuts

WASHINGTON, DC: A group of US federal employees has filed a class action complaint challenging a Trump administration policy that eliminates coverage for gender-affirming care under federal health insurance programs.

The complaint was submitted on Thursday, January 1, as the policy took effect at the start of the new year.

Filed by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the action targets the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), which oversees health benefits for federal and postal workers. The employees argue that the policy constitutes unlawful discrimination and seek its reversal.

Legal complaint targets federal insurance policy 

The complaint was filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on behalf of federal employees affected by an Office of Personnel Management policy announced in August 2025.

OPM stated that beginning in 2026, federal health insurance plans would no longer cover “chemical and surgical modification of an individual’s s*x traits through medical interventions” for federal employees and Postal Service workers.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation argues that denying coverage for gender-affirming care amounts to discrimination on the basis of s*x under federal law.

The complaint asks that the policy be rescinded and seeks economic damages and other relief for affected workers.

If the issue is not resolved through the EEOC process, the organization said it plans to pursue class claims and potentially file a class action lawsuit in federal court.

“This policy is not about cost or care, it is about driving transgender people and people with transgender spouses, children, and dependents out of the federal workforce,” Human Rights Campaign Foundation President Kelley Robinson said.

The filing includes testimonies from four current federal employees working at the State Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Postal Service. 

One postal worker cited in the complaint has a daughter whose doctors recommended puberty blockers and potentially hormone replacement therapy for diagnosed gender dysphoria.

Under the new OPM policy, those treatments would no longer be covered, according to the filing.

The complaint states that the employees are bringing the claim on behalf of themselves and a broader “class of similarly situated federal employees” who would be affected by the loss of coverage.

Broader administration efforts to restrict care 

The legal challenge comes amid wider efforts to restrict access to gender-affirming care, particularly for minors.

In December 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released proposals that would bar hospitals providing such care to children from receiving Medicare and Medicaid funding.

The proposals would also prohibit the Children’s Health Insurance Program from paying for related treatments.

HHS Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr has publicly criticized gender-affirming care for minors, describing it as “malpractice.”

Kennedy said HHS was taking six “decisive actions” aimed at ending what he called “s*x-rejecting” procedures for children, citing science and Trump's executive order.

He said he had signed a declaration asserting that such procedures were not safe or effective for children with gender dysphoria and did not meet professionally recognized standards of care.