A Georgia state senator is warning that a legal loophole in the state’s health benefit plan requires taxpayers to cover transgender surgeries performed on minors in other states, even though Georgia law bans those procedures at home.
State Sen. Blake Tillery, chairman of the Senate appropriations committee, told The Daily Wire that most Georgians would be “appalled” to learn where their tax dollars are going. He is pushing legislation to close the loophole.
Georgia prohibits transgender surgeries on minors under state law. But Tillery said the State Health Benefit Plan, which covers around 660,000 public school teachers and other state employees, is subject to different rules. Under a federal requirement, the state is obligated to cover medically necessary procedures even if the procedure isn’t permitted in Georgia.
The result: a Georgian covered under the plan can travel to New York or California, have a transgender surgery performed on their child, and send the bill home to Georgia taxpayers.
Tillery has pushed for two years to cut off all state funding for transgender procedures, for both adults and minors. His bill, SB 39, passed the Senate but has stalled in the House. Last month, the Senate passed a separate bill banning puberty blockers for minors with an amendment attached to end transgender surgery funding. The House has yet to vote on the amended version.
The amendment specified that “no state funds shall be expended for health benefits coverage that includes coverage for gender-affirming care” and that no state-owned healthcare facility or state employee shall provide such care.
The effort comes as more than two dozen Republican-led states have moved to ban transgender surgeries and hormonal interventions on minors. Several hospitals have also wound down their programs. Vanderbilt Health announced last month it was phasing out transgender surgical procedures.
