Transgender veterans file 2nd lawsuit against VA for gender-affirming surgery coverage

An advocacy group for transgender veterans filed a second lawsuit against the federal government over its exclusion of gender-affirming surgery from health benefits for veterans.

The lawsuit is the latest update in a yearslong effort by the Transgender American Veterans Association, or TAVA, to push the Department of Veterans Affairs to cover gender-affirming surgery — coverage that the association says the VA has been promising to provide for years.

In 2016, TAVA filed a petition asking the VA to start the rulemaking process to amend its health benefits for transgender veterans to include gender-affirming surgery.

The VA covers nearly all transition-related care for veterans, including hormone therapy, fertility preservation, hair removal, voice training and psychosocial support. Surgery, however, is the exception. If trans veterans want to receive genital or breast surgery, among other surgical procedures, they have to pay out of pocket or use private insurance. Such surgeries are covered for active duty service members.

TAVA filed a lawsuit in January and asked the court to compel the VA to respond to its 2016 petition within a reasonable time. The VA responded Feb. 22 and denied TAVA’s petition.

In his letter denying TAVA’s petition, Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough said the recently enacted PACT Act — a 2022 law that expands health care benefits for veterans exposed to burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxic substances — will necessitate that the VA produce and collect new information that might require the department to submit new data on a proposed rule to cover gender-affirming surgeries.

“Because VA is not ready at this time to initiate a rulemaking addressing the specific regulatory changes