WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — A transgender Houston County deputy is suing the county because it refused to pay medical expenses for her transition as recommended by her doctors.
The lawsuit claims that Houston County denied Deputy Anna Lange equal benefits and discriminated against her based on sex and disability.
Lange and her lawyers discussed the suit at a news conference.
"I just want to be treated fairly and equally and earn the same benefits as my coworkers," said Lange.
Lange came out as a transgender woman in 2017 as she started to transition. She says Sheriff Cullen Talton and her fellow deputies have supported her during her transition.
"The only thing that concerns the sheriff is if I work hard, do my job, and serve my community to the best of my ability," said Lange.
County officials have denied her request for changes to be made to the county's healthcare plan to help pay for her gender reassignment surgery.
"Everyone deserves to have the medically-necessary healthcare they need, including transgender people," said Lange.
According to her lawsuit, doctors say Lange has gender dysphoria and that surgery is medically-necessary.
Noah Lewis with the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund will be representing Lange along with a local firm Cooper, Barton and Cooper.
"The only reason to deny this care is discrimination. There's no legitimate reason to single out this specific form of health care for exclusion," said Lewis.
The lawsuit named the county, county commissioners, and the county's personnel director as defendants.
"Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, the third part administrator in this case, told Houston County this would be an unlawful exclusion and they made Houston County sign an agreement saying Houston County would be at risk for any penalties incurred," said Lewis.
Lewis says they're prepared to litigate this case all the way to the Supreme Court, but they hope the county will agree to pay her medical costs and damages.
We reached out to Houston County Chairman Tommy Stalnaker and county attorney Tom Hall, but they did not return our phone calls.
Lange says that her legal team did studies that showed if Houston County pays her medical expenses, it would not cause her coworkers' insurance premiums to go up.
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