ADA — A northwestern Minnesota woman alleges in a federal lawsuit that her employer and her medical insurance provider have denied medication and surgery for her 17-year-old to help him transition from a female to a male.

Brittany Tovar, who works as a family nurse practitioner for Essentia Health’s hospital in Ada, pursued the discrimination claim through the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in May.

The lawsuit alleges that Tovar’s insurance plan through HealthPartners “contains a categorical exclusion” for gender reassignment services and surgery, regardless of medical necessity.

Tovar told the Star Tribune on Wednesday that it’s “hard to come to work (when) my employer considers my son a second-class citizen.”

The lawsuit asks Essentia to change its policies regarding coverage for gender-reassignment services and surgery.

Representatives of Essentia and HealthPartners declined to comment on the lawsuit.