State Employee Health Care RI

Raimondo to Announce Improvements to State Employee Health Care Affecting Transgender Community

Commemorates 15th Anniversary of Gender Expression Protections

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Fifteen years??after??the passage of gender expression protections??in Rhode Island, Governor Gina M.??Raimondo will announce improvements??to current state employee health care that benefit the transgender community. In May 2001, Rhode Island became the second state in the country to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender identity or expression, protecting transgender people in employment, housing, credit, and public accommodations. “Rhode Island is a place that embraces all people and celebrates our diversity,” Raimondo said. “I am proud of our state’s long tradition??of freedom and tolerance. At a time when there is so much divisiveness across the country, we know we are strongest when we come together to make our state a place of opportunity for everyone.” ??

Governor Gina M. Raimondo Representative Edith Ajello, D-Dist. 1 Thundermist??Trans* Health Program Manager Jaye Watts, LCSW TGI Network of RI Member and LGBT Activist??Gwendolyn Howard