For people who feel like they are trapped in the wrong body and opt for gender reassignment surgery, it can come with a hefty price tag. Insurers have not been on board for the procedures thus far in New York.
But now, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is informing insurance companies that if a doctor has deemed that treatment medically necessary, they will no longer be allowed to deny gender reassignment surgery or things like hormone therapy.
In a letter being sent to insurance companies this week, the governor said that because state law requires insurance coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders, people who are found to have a mismatch between their birth sex and their internal sense of gender are entitled to insurance coverage for treatments related to that condition, called gender dysphoria.
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“An issuer of a policy that includes coverage for mental health conditions may not exclude coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of gender dysphoria,” the governor’s letter says.
New York will be the ninth state to require the coverage, the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, an advocacy group, said on Wednesday. California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, are the other states supporting the coverage, as well as Washington, D.C.
“This is an absolute sea change in the way that insurance for transgender people will cover their health care needs,” Michael Silverman, executive director of the fund, said. “This essentially opens up an entire world of treatment for transgender people that was closed to them previously.”
[Photo from flickr user John Drake]
