An editorial in today’s New York Times declares “there is no reason to exclude transgender medical care”. It is medically necessary, and because there are relatively few of us, the cost to insurers is negligible.
Interestingly, the NYT’s own health insurance plans do exclude coverage of gender confirmation surgery, despite NY state laws that prohibit such exclusions:
Even in states that have prohibited insurance companies from denying transition care, discriminatory policies and practices are common. (The New York Times Company’s health insurance plans retain an exclusion for gender reassignment surgery; because they are self-funded, they are not required to follow New York State policy.)
Clearly, we have a long way to go. Unfortunately, even if the NHS’s proposed nondiscrimination in healthcare policy becomes law, it won’t guarantee equality on this issue.