Michigan will continue to provide Medicaid coverage for sex reassignment surgeries and medications.
This has been Michigan’s policy under the Affordable Care Act. But it wasn’t codified.
Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s administration changed that by adding language to the state’s Medicaid Provider Manual.
Whitmer says this puts Michigan in line with federal law.
“Our laws have been inconsistent on the books here in Michigan and we thought it was important to clean it up and make sure that our laws reflected what the mandates of the Affordable Care Act are," said Whitmer.
Erin Knott is the executive director of Equality Michigan, an advocacy group for the LGBTQ community in Michigan.
“I’m hopeful that this will just be one more step in the right direction as it relates to making our transgender friends and neighbors feel that they are an included part of our community and our society,” said Knott.
Now Medicaid providers cannot deny benefits or discriminate for sex reassignment related expenses.
