Transgender Health Benefits: Best Practices and Legal Considerations

By , and on September 3, 2019

A growing number of medical organizations, courts and administrative bodies have stated that transition-related medical care is medically necessary and should be covered by employer-sponsored medical plans. Access to employer-sponsored healthcare coverage for transgender workers has become an issue of focus for civil rights advocacy groups such as Lambda Legal and the American Civil Liberties Union, and there has been an uptick in discrimination lawsuits filed against health plans and insurers denying such care.

These trends highlight the importance of weighing the legal and business considerations that come with providing (or not providing) comprehensive health benefits for transgender workers. Health plan sponsors and insurers should consider how the decision to provide or exclude transition-related medical coverage will affect their legal compliance, overall costs and workplace culture—all of which are discussed in this article.

Access the full article.

Originally published in Benefits Magazine, August 2019.

Erin Steele
Erin Steele focuses her practice on employee benefits and executive compensation. She has experience working on matters related to employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs), code section 401(k) plans, health and welfare arrangements, and Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) litigation. She has also assisted in employee benefits matters as part of corporate transactional due diligence work. Read Erin Steele's full bio.


Jacob Mattinson
Jacob M. Mattinson focuses his practice on employee benefits and matters related to 401(k), 403(b), pension, executive compensation, health care reform, and cafeteria and welfare plans. Jacob assists clients in drafting employee benefit plan documents and amendments. He represents clients in matters before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), US Department of Labor (DOL) and Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation with respect to plain qualification issues. Read Jacob Mattinson's full bio.


Todd Solomon
Todd A. Solomon focuses his practice on designing, amending and administering pension, profit sharing, 401(k), employee stock ownership and 403(b) plans, as well as nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. He also counsels privately and publicly held corporations and tax-exempt entities regarding fiduciary issues under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), employee benefits issues involved in corporate transactions, executive compensation matters and the implementation of benefit programs for domestic partners of employees.Read Todd A. Solomon's full bio.

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