Patrick Marley

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON - Two transgender University of Wisconsin employees sued state entities Friday in federal court over their refusal to pay for their gender transition surgeries.

The two employees sued the UW System, the Board of Regents, insurers and others with the assistance of the national and Wisconsin arms of the American Civil Liberties Union.

“As a result of (state policies), plaintiffs’ health insurance plans single out transgender employees for unequal treatment by categorically depriving them of all medical care for gender dysphoria, a serious medical condition codified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and International Classification of Diseases,” attorneys wrote in the lawsuit filed in federal court in Madison.

A spokesman for Gov. Scott Walker stood by how the state has handled the issue.

"We believe the policy adopted by the (state) is a reasonable measure that protects taxpayers from funding sex changes for state employees and complies with both state and federal law," Walker spokesman Tom Evenson said by email.

The state has long declined to cover gender transition surgery. It was poised to change course last year, but stuck by the ban after Attorney General Brad Schimel’s office urged the state to keep it in place, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit was brought by two employees who were born male but have long identified as female.

Shannon Andrews is a UW School of Medicine research assistant who paid for her gender transition surgery out of her own pocket. Alina Boyden is a UW-Madison graduate student and teaching assistant in anthropology who has foregone treatment because her state insurance plan will not cover it.

“Many people can relate to paying into an insurance plan only to be told that the treatment they need is not covered,” Andrews said in a statement. “But when the reason you are denied coverage is because of who you are, it is even more painful. And it’s clearly discrimination.”