Employers fight rules that would expand gender rights

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

Big companies are pushing back against proposed federal rules they say would require their medical plans to cover gender transition and other services under the nondiscrimination mandate of President Barack Obama’s health care law.

Civil-rights advocates representing transgender people say the regulation, now being finalized by the Health and Human Services Department, would be a major step forward for a marginalized community beginning to gain acceptance as celebrities such as Caitlyn Jenner tell their stories.

The issue mixes rapidly changing social mores and subtle interpretations of complex federal laws, including the Affordable Care Act. Obama has been recognized as the first president openly supportive of transgender rights.

The latest dispute over the health care law may have to be resolved by the courts. The law’s nondiscrimination section applies federal civil-rights protections to programs under the health overhaul.

A group representing big employers said its members don’t have particular qualms about gender transition. But large employers do object to what they see as an overreach by the Obama administration, since their health plans don’t get federal financial assistance.