A legal complaint has been filed by a group of U.S. federal employees against the Trump administration regarding a new policy that will eliminate coverage for gender-affirming care in federal health insurance programs. This policy, announced by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) in August, will take effect on Thursday and specifically excludes coverage for medical interventions related to the modification of an individual's sex traits.

The complaint, submitted by the Human Rights Campaign on behalf of the employees, asserts that the denial of coverage for gender-affirming care is a form of sex-based discrimination. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation president, Kelley Robinson, stated that the policy is not merely a financial decision but rather an attempt to marginalize transgender individuals and their families within the federal workforce.

The complaint has been filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and includes testimonies from four federal employees from various departments, including the State Department and Health and Human Services, who would be adversely affected by the policy. One example cited is a postal service employee whose daughter requires puberty blockers and potentially hormone replacement therapy for her diagnosed gender dysphoria, which would not be covered under the new policy.

Additionally, the Trump administration has previously implemented measures to restrict access to gender-affirming care for transgender Americans, particularly minors. In December, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposed regulations that would prevent Medicare and Medicaid funding for hospitals providing gender-affirming care to children. Senior officials, including Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have referred to such care for minors as “malpractice,” despite opposition from major medical organizations like the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, which support gender-affirming treatments as essential healthcare.