West Virginia AG takes state's Medicaid debate on gender reassignment surgery to Supreme Court

West Virginia's Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey on Thursday petitioned the Supreme Court to take up its case regarding whether a state must pay for gender reassignment surgeries under its Medicaid plan.

A federal district court last year ruled that the state cannot not eliminate coverage of sex-reassignment surgeries without violating the United States Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause. But Morrisey claims the procedures have a high price tag that taxpayers should not be required to pay. 

Morrisey announced his decision to take the matter to the Supreme Court after an appeals court ruled in favor of a Medicaid recipient in April.

“Under Medicaid, states have wide discretion to determine what procedures their programs can cover based on cost and other concerns,” Morrisey said in a statement. “Our state should have the ability to determine how to spend our resources to care for the vital medical needs of our citizens. Just one single sex-reassignment surgery can cost tens of thousands of dollars—taxpayers should not be required to pay for these surgeries under Medicaid.”

Morrisey previously claimed that the state paid $771 million into the state's Medicaid in fiscal year 2021. The total budget for the program, which includes federal funds, exceeded $4 billion.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.