Delaware is among twenty states to claim victory against a policy that would have excluded gender affirming care from health benefits covered by the Affordable Care Act.
A federal court judge in Massachusetts recently vacated the policy put forward by US Department of Health and Human Services leadership last year.
Ian Liston, Director of Impact Litigation in the Delaware Attorney General’s office, said Delaware signs onto suits when a federal policy stands to affect Delawareans’ rights. The judge ruled in the state’s favor because DHHS didn’t follow proper procedures to enact the rule.
Liston said when joining a suit, the DOJ consults with the state's other agencies, and it involves collecting, "declarations, that is, gathering all the facts necessary to support Delaware's standing in the case and to to help us evaluate whether this is something that is actually harming Delaware and its citizens."
Liston added in this case, leadership in the US Department of Health and Human Services didn’t follow proper process to remove gender affirming care from health services offered.
"The administration did not comply with a requirement to consult with Congress in making its changes to essential health services, and that was the provision on which we won," he said.
Liston said it’s possible the Trump administration could pursue the policy again but follow proper procedures. States first challenged the procedure more than a year ago. So far, the Department of Health and Human Services has not made moves to replicate the policy.
Delaware has joined suits against the federal government more than 60 times in the last two years, including new litigation filed against President Donald Trump’s latest round of tariffs– which also argues the administration overstepped its authority.
