MADISON, Wis. – Two University of Wisconsin-Madison employees are suing the state for denying insurance claims for sex change surgeries, alleging the decision violates federal law.

Shannon Andrews, a research assistant, and graduate student Alina Boyden filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court against the UW System, the Board of Regents, the school’s insurance company and others on Friday with the help of the ACLU, the Wisconsin State Journal reports.

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The sex discrimination suit alleges the transgender women, who were born male but identify as female, were denied insurance coverage for gender reassignment surgery, which they argue is a treatment for “gender dysphoria.”

According to the Journal:

The lawsuit seeks a declaration that the state violated the equal protection rights of Boyden and Andrews, along with the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It also seeks an order that their transition-related care be covered by insurance.  

“As a result of (state policies), plaintiffs’ health insurance plans single out transgender employees for unequal treatment by categorically depriving them of all medical care for gender dysphoria, a serious medical condition codified in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and International Classification of Diseases,” the lawsuit alleges.

Wisconsin’s Department of Employee Trust Funds had denied gender transition surgery as a necessary procedure but briefly reversed course in January based on a provision in Obamacare that “prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability in certain health programs and activities,” The Daily Cardinal reports.

The ETF reverted back to its previous policy a month later, denying “procedures, services, and supplies related to surgery and sex hormones associated with gender reassignment,” according to a memo from the state’s Group Insurance Board.

“We believe the policy adopted by the (state) is a reasonable measure that protects taxpayers from funding sex changes for state employees and complies with both state and federal law,” Tom Evenson, spokesman for Gov. Scott Walker, wrote in an email to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

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Andrews already underwent gender reassignment surgery in Pennsylvania in 2015, but her claim to cover the procedure was denied. Boyden, meanwhile, was denied pre-approval for the surgery in May 2016 and has not yet underwent the transition, the Journal reports.

“Many people can relate to paying into an insurance plan only to be told that the treatment they need is not covered,” Andrews told the Journal-Sentinel in a prepared statement. “But when the reason you are denied coverage is because of who you are, it is even more painful. And it’s clearly discrimination.”

John Knight, head of the ACLU’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and HIV Project, told The Daily Cardinal gender reassignment is a necessity for transgender people.

“All that transgender people like Alina and Shannon are asking for is to be treated like everyone else, and that includes respect and coverage for the health care you need,” Knight said.