Nine states and the District of Columbia took a stand in federal court on Wednesday to support transgender military veterans who are suing the Department of Veterans Affairs to make the agency pay for gender-transition treatment as part of their health care coverage.

The states say in a brief, led by Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson, that "there is no legitimate basis for the Department’s refusal to cover sex reassignment surgery to transgender veterans who need it."

Some of the states, including Washington and California, have their own health care policies that provide transition-related services, which can include hormone treatment and surgery. They contend they have an interest in seeing a ban at the VA overturned.

"Our experience demonstrates that ensuring equal access to health care helps us all without imposing significant costs or meaningful financial burdens," the states write in their amicus brief.