NICHOLS KASTER AND CALIFORNIA CIVIL RIGHTS LAW GROUP FILE SEX AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION CLASS ACTION AGAINST GEICO, UNITED HEALTHCARE SERVICES, AND UNITEDHEALTH GROUP

    SAN FRANCISCO, CA, January 29, 2024 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On January 24, 2024, Nichols Kaster, along with the California Civil Rights Law Group, filed a class action against GEICO, United Healthcare Services, and UnitedHealth Group, alleging their health insurance policy discriminated on the basis of sex and/or sexual orientation in the provision of their fertility benefits by requiring individuals in non-heterosexual relationships to endure expensive medical procedures that individuals in heterosexual relationships did not have to undergo. The lawsuit is filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.

As alleged in the complaint, to qualify for covered fertility benefits, the health insurance policy provided by GEICO, United Healthcare Services, and UnitedHealth Group required individuals to (A) state that they were unable to become pregnant after six months to one year of sexual intercourse, (B) be medically infertile, or (C) undergo six months to one year of therapeutic donor insemination without a pregnancy. The complaint further alleges that, for individuals in a non-heterosexual relationship such as Plaintiff Reyna Dempsey, the only option to qualify for covered fertility treatment (absent medical infertility) was Option C, which was expensive and time-consuming. The complaint alleges that this policy was unfair and facially discriminated on the basis of sex and/or sexual orientation.

"All people, regardless of their sex or sexual orientation, deserve equal access to healthcare benefits", said Plaintiff's attorney Jasjit Mundh of Nichols Kaster, LLP.

The case is titled Dempsey v. Government Employees Insurance Company, et al., and its case number is 5:24-cv-0042. The Plaintiffs are represented by Matthew C. Helland, Anna P. Prakash, and Jasjit Mundh of Nichols Kaster and Larry Organ, Julianne Stanford, and Kira Brekke of the California Civil Rights Law Group.

For additional information on the case, contact Jasjit Mundh of Nichols Kaster, LLP at (415) 277-7258 or [email protected], or please visit our web page. For more information about the representative law firms, please visit www.nka.com and www.civilrightsca.com.

Nichols Kaster, PLLP, an employee, consumer, and civil rights firm has dedicated over 45 years to fighting for clients in individual and class action matters. With offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota and San Francisco, California, the firm is perfectly situated for the work it does representing plaintiffs in cases across the country. The firm has recently received a First Tier ranking on the 2024 Best Law Firms List in Minneapolis for Litigation-Labor and Employment by U.S. News-Best Lawyers® "Best Law Firms."

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