Credit: Jo Panuwat D/Adobe Stock

In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employers cannot discriminate against employees based on their gender identity under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Since then, many employers have taken preventative measures to ensure compliance by updating employee handbooks and policies including those involving pronouns, dress codes and bathroom or locker room usage.

However, the Bostock ruling extends beyond workplace conduct, harassment and employment issues like hiring or firing. It affects the intricate terms of health insurance plans, such as the inclusion or exclusion of gender-affirming physical, mental or other health care services administered or prescribed to treat gender dysphoria or related diagnoses. Such care may include puberty-delaying medication, hormone replacement therapy, "sex reassignment" surgery or other treatments.

Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.

Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.