Judge temporarily blocks Biden administration's restoration of transgender health protections

A federal district court judge has temporarily halted parts of a nondiscrimination rule that would have kept insurers and medical professionals from denying hormone therapy, gender transition surgeries and similar medical care for transgender people. U.S. District Judge Louis Guirola Jr. sided Wednesday with Republican attorneys general in 15 states who had argued the language that the rule was based on encompasses biological sex, but not gender identity. The rule deals with a section of the Affordable Care Act, and would have gone into effect Friday. It’s another blow to the Biden administration’s efforts to expand anti-discrimination protections.