Alaska and Texas are leading a multi-state effort to challenge federal overreach by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, by fighting a new rule that ignores existing federal law and imposes unfunded mandates on the states.
In May, the Biden Administration adopted a new final rule that directly undermines and contradicts established federal disability law by redefining “gender dysphoria” as a “disability” under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
However, when Congress passed these laws in 1990, it specifically stipulated that “gender identity disorders not resulting from physical impairments, or other sexual behavior disorders,” are not considered disabilities.
The new rule imposes sweeping, expensive, and impracticable requirements on all recipients of any type of federal health funding, including states and private healthcare providers. In some cases, the rule’s requirements are inconsistent with other federal standards for Medicaid, the Alaska Department of Law said on Friday.
“The rule is yet another example of the Biden administration attempting to subordinate state policy and fiscal judgments to the federal government. The requirements of the rule are impossible to meet and would be devastating to State Medicaid programs,” said Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor.
“The Biden Administration is once again abusing executive action to sidestep federal law and force unscientific, unfounded gender ideology onto the public,” said Texas Attorney General Paxton. “Texas is suing because HHS has no authority to unilaterally rewrite statutory definitions and classify ‘gender dysphoria’ as a disability.”
Compliance with the Final Rule would also require fundamentally altering the State’s systems, programs, and activities as well as its sovereign administration of the state.
Alaska, Texas and 15 other states are asking the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of Texas to set aside the Final Rule, enjoin defendants from enforcing it and declare it unlawful. The 15 states include: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, and West Virginia.
Read the complaint here: https://law.alaska.gov/pdf/press/240927-Complaint.pdf
