GAINESVILLE, Fla. (WCJB) – A Florida House panel has backed a measure that would require state-issued identification cards to reflect a person’s sex assigned at birth and impose requirements for insurers who cover gender-affirming care.
The Republican-controlled House Select Committee on Health Innovation approved the bill along party lines, despite opposition from transgender people and their allies.
Under the bill, insurance companies and health plans that cover such treatments as hormone-replacement therapy and surgeries for people diagnosed with gender dysphoria would additionally be required to cover the cost of “de-transitioning.”
It also would require insurers and medical plans that cover gender-affirming treatment to offer plans that do not include such coverage.
State Representative Doug Bankson is the bill sponsor. He shared, “If someone chooses to go down the pathway of transition surgery, they also need to make sure that they will cover the detransition pathway.”
The bill also would require changes to driver’s licenses.
Currently, the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles identifies a person’s “gender” on licenses. The bill would require licenses to reflect a person’s sex at birth.
Critics of the measure, including Representative Michele Rayner, argue that it is part of the Legislature’s attempt to “erase” transgender people from society.
“Here we are again, targeting 0.66 percent of human beings that live in the state of Florida,” Rayner stated.
With the 60-day legislative session in its third week, a Senate version of the bill has not yet been filed.
Copyright 2024 WCJB. All rights reserved.
