Two transgender teens in Florida will not have to undergo “mental examinations” to confirm their gender dysphoria diagnosis, a federal judge ruled.
The minors are plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging the state’s newly implemented rule barring Medicaid from covering gender-affirming care for transgender people.
Lawyers for the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration had asked U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle last month to allow the kids — identified in court papers as Susan Doe and K.F. — to undergo the two-hour psychiatric exams “to confirm whether or not [they] suffer from gender dysphoria.”
Hinkle denied their request Monday, saying the state didn’t demonstrate why evaluations were needed.
“If you want to know whether these plaintiffs need this care, probably the crucial place to start is with the treating physicians who said they need this care,” Hinkle said during a telephone hearing, according to News Service of Florida.
![Trans pride flags flutter in the wind at a gathering to celebrate International Transgender Day of Visibility, March 31, 2017 in Los Angeles, Calif.](https://www.nydailynews.com/resizer/8e3E-h5JP9DpRCOsbD3zSDoMAX4=/1440x0/filters:format(jpg):quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/tronc/4ZIDEYWTPZFADJ6MZMCYD5GKVM.jpg)
The federal lawsuit argues treatment for gender dysphoria is “medically necessary, safe and effective,” and that the Medicaid changes could have devastating consequences in the lives of the kids.
The judge had already denied a request to have Geeta Nangia, a psychiatrist from South Carolina, perform evaluations.
On Jan. 30, the state submitted the name of another psychiatrist, Joshua Sanderson. Sanderson, a Louisiana-based doctor, said he believed trans kids should wait until adulthood to seek gender-affirming care, according to court papers.
In the ruling Monday, the judge said Sanderson had “already made up his mind about the need for the treatment.”