From Fear to Applause: Trans Woman’s Health Care Suit in Pa. Leads to Reforms
Following a lawsuit for alleged mistreatment, a major medical care provider in Pennsylvania is expanding its care for LGBTQ+ people.
by Mira Lazine
Editorial note: As this story was coming to press, news broke of an executive order seeking to ban gender-affirming care for all trans people under the age of 19 and threatening investigations into healthcare providers. The future of gender-affirming care, including for adults, remains uncertain as of this time.
A transgender woman’s two-year legal battle over gender affirming care has ended with one of the largest hospital providers in west-central Pennsylvania agreeing to sweeping changes intended to widen access and improve staffing and training.
“The most important goal to all this was that no other trans person would have to go through what I did,” said the woman, Maeve Plummer, who filed suit against Conemaugh Health System alleging mistreatment and denial of care. “I really applaud Conemaugh for the changes they're committed to making.”
In an interview with Assigned Media last week, Plummer said her trouble began during the pandemic when she returned home to Pennsylvania from the United Kingdom, where she had been studying for a master’s degree. The Pennsylvania region historically had little trans visibility, she said, spurring worry that she would be able to continue her care.
“All my fears kind of came true,” Plummer said when she arrived at Conemaugh’s affiliated medical practices in Johnstown.
“I really didn't know what to expect in Johnstown, but didn't want to let any of my preconceived notions get in the way of getting the care that I needed. I feared that the medical professionals here wouldn't be knowledgeable about gender affirming care – or worse, would have prejudices related to it,” she told Assigned Media.
Conemaugh personnel, she said, “refused care without any official reason,” and “were resistant to any information” that she offered.
“This all really had a profound impact on my mental health. I was having panic attacks, fixating on how my body was masculinizing, how these effects could be irreversible, permanent, that I would never be able to live as a woman I knew myself to be,” Plummer said.
Plummer said she struggled to find work as the stress escalated and “truly derailed my entire life.” Eventually, she said, she was forced to drive to Pittsburgh, nearly two hours away, to receive care.
Still, Plummer said, she was fortunate to have friends and legal connections. She got in touch with the Women’s Law Project and the Community Justice Project, two organizations that ended up representing her in the lawsuit.
Under terms of the settlement, Conemaugh denied any wrongdoing but agreed to expand care for LGBTQ+ individuals across the region, Plummer’s legal team said in a statement.
Among other things, it agreed to provide hormone replacement therapy in its family medical center and hire qualified professionals in LGBTQ+ health care needs. Conemaugh also agreed to undertake training in the care of LGBTQ+ patients, work with national rights organizations like the Human Rights Campaign to strengthen its guidelines, and create an internal task force to ensure care is held to a high standard.
“The settlement wasn't just dollars and cents,” Plummer said, “it's actual work and access and greater inclusion for my community and that's really priceless. They're going to educate their professionals, they're going to have certified providers that can provide or oversee hormone replacement therapy among a multitude of other things.”
Jackie Perlow, supervising attorney at the Women’s Law Project, lauded the settlement. “As counsel representing courageous LGBTQ+ clients, we see how the harm of overt discrimination is exacerbated by a lack of competency in providing health care for transgender patients,” she said in a statement.
Conemaugh did not immediately respond to Assigned Media’s request for comment, but Perlow praised its actions in reaching an agreement. “We appreciate that Conemaugh went beyond rectifying the situation with our client and committed to a plan that will ensure their providers are consistently meeting the health care needs of LGBTQ+ Pennsylvanians and transgender patients specifically.”
For Plummer, the case raises hopes for the future – provided that trans people and allies are willing to fight and collaborate. Despite the harsh political climate, she said, “amazing things happen.”
“I just wish a lot of other conversations around access to gender affirming care were less combative and more collaborative and open like this experience.”
Mira Lazine is a freelance journalist covering transgender issues, politics, and science. She can be found on Twitter, Mastodon, and BlueSky, @MiraLazine