This class action lawsuit marked a groundbreaking win for transgender Medicaid recipients seeking healthcare coverage. Alongside partners Sylvia Rivera Law Project and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, the Legal Aid Society successfully argued against New York State’s practice of denying transgender individuals coverage for medically necessary procedures and denying transgender youth coverage for hormone therapy and transition-related surgeries. 

On July 5, 2016 the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York first granted partial summary judgment for the plaintiffs regarding Medicaid coverage for transition-related procedures for transgender individuals. The Court initially reserved the issue of coverage for transgender youth for trial. However, after further deliberation and argument by the parties, the Court granted summary judgment on the remaining claims on October 24, 2016, ordering New York state to provide Medicaid coverage for transgender youth.