Folwell’s Lonely Fight: With NO HELP from NCGOPe, ban on state $$$ for sex changes reinstated

Raleigh Republicans love to preach about family values and thump their Bibles for the church-going crowd.  But when it comes to fighting back against the amoral, godless leftist hordes, it’s hard to find anything or anyone resembling a Republican leader to help us.

Former legislator and state treasurer Dale Folwell (R) is and has been an exception to that rule.  The recent announcement by federal judges that the State Health Plan – which Folwell managed for eight years as treasurer – can indeed exclude and deny coverage for sex change procedures was a bit of redemption for the now-retired leader.

In March 2019, a lawsuit was filed by some state employees against state officials and the University of North Carolina over the exclusion of *gender affirming care* from state health plan benefits.  Most Republicans in Raleigh – still smarting from the bludgeoning they got from leftists over HB2 and the heat from the GOP base over the repeal of HB2 – decided they weren’t interested in fighting against the suit.  Nobody in the legislative building wanted to fight.  No state officials. Except Treasurer Dale Folwell.  

Andrew Tripp – former chief of staff to senator Phil Berger – went on to become chief counsel at UNC, where he reportedly led the effort to settle the lawsuit. The state cash spigot got turned back on for *gender affirming care.*

The *gender affirming stuff* was stuck in the health plan at the tail end of state treasurer Janet Cowell‘s (D) term (before Folwell was sworn in as treasurer).  It appeared that Raleigh Republicans  were fine and dandy with letting the state health plan continue with the coverage for sex change procedures.

Folwell decided to fight.  The health plan was bleeding money.  This *gender affirming* stuff is and was elective and expensive.

In August 2025, the US Supreme Court kicked the lawsuit — known as  Kadel v. Folwell — back to the lower US Court of Appeals.  This week, that court said it was fine and dandy for the state health plan to exclude *gender affirming care* from its offerings.

Here is what Folwell had to say about this week’s decision:

“This legal battle as to whether taxpayers should pay for sex transition operations has been a lonely journey with less than a handful of supporters and superb legal advisors. I distinctly remember the General Assembly leadership being awol , then-attorney general Josh Stein saying he would not represent me or the plan and UNC general counsel Andrew Tripp pressuring me to settle this case as they did  as a co defendant by paying off the plaintiffs .”