Litigation involving “transition-related medical procedures and medications” in the State Health Plan of North Carolina has been sent back to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Monday’s announcement in Folwell v. Kadel said “further consideration in light of United States v. Skrmetti” was needed. In that case, the nation’s highest court sided with Tennessee law that bans puberty blockers and hormone therapy for teens.
“As expected, the U.S. Supreme Court has granted the Department of State Treasurer’s petition and sent the Folwell v. Kadel case back to the 4th Circuit,” first-term Republican Treasurer Brad Briner’s office posted to social media.
It said the Court of Appeals “enbanc will need to decide the next steps.” En banc means all of the judges in a court, not just a panel.
The State Health Plan insures about 750,000 people. Included are active employees of the state, retirees and dependents. This would include teachers as well as other state employees.
The Tennessee decision on June 18 was 6-3 with Justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Samuel Alito in the majority.
Briner said after that, “The Court’s ruling in Tennessee’s equal protection case upholds our arguments in the long-running Kadel v. Folwell case here in North Carolina. In its simplest form, this case has always been about ensuring that the State Health Plan can conduct its business in a manner that best serves the members of the Plan. We are thankful that the Supreme Court has affirmed the ability of the Plan to do just that.”
Transition-related medical procedures and medications exclusion from the State Health Plan dates to the 1990s. The one exception was a period of time in 2016. Briner’s office said exclusion lists are common “in most insurance coverage” and gave the example of GLP-1s when used for weight loss, acupuncture and durable medical equipment.
Dale Folwell is the former state treasurer; the state treasurer’s office is charged with responbility of the State Health Plan. Max Kadel previously worked as an administrative support associate at the UNC School of Government. According to his LinkedIn page, he’s been a library software engineer at Princeton University in New Jersey working remotely from Chapel Hill since May 2022.
