A federal judge has granted a preliminary injunction against Aetna Insurance after six transgender women challenged the company’s denial of facial feminization surgery, a key gender-affirming procedure. The lawsuit was filed after the women were categorically denied facial feminization surgery, or FFS, under Aetna’s internal guidance, Clinical Policy Bulletin 0615, which classifies the procedure as “cosmetic” and excludes coverage.
The ruling currently applies to two of the plaintiffs, Dr. Jamie Homnick and Dr. Gennifer Herley, who sought the surgery to treat severe gender dysphoria. Both reported experiencing depression, suicidality, and worsening dysphoria linked to facial masculinization, and neither found relief through puberty blockers or hormone therapy. Judge Victor A. Bolden of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut ordered Aetna to reconsider their claims without enforcing the blanket exclusion, calling the denials discriminatory.
Judge Bolden wrote, “To be clear, the issue is not whether Aetna’s policy exclusion prohibits this type of gender-affirming care, but rather that Aetna’s policy exclusion prohibits only transgender individuals, the only individuals who can experience gender dysphoria, from receiving this type of gender-affirming care.” The decision cites the Supreme Court’s 2020 Bostock v. Clayton County ruling and provisions of the Affordable Care Act, signaling broader implications for transgender patients nationwide as the case continues through the courts.
