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Healthcare Ruling Offers Huge Benefits For Trans Americans
Somewhere in the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare (which was based on Romneycare) is a provision which specifically helps to ensure that trans people are treated fairly by health insurance providers. This makes today’s victory especially wonderful.
The ACA prohibits health insurance providers from discriminating against people based upon their gender identity. This is important as many trans people have a hard time getting insurance, and most insurance policies do not cover even the most basic services that a trans person needs like therapy and hormone replacement.
Masen Davis, the Executive Director of the Transgender Law Center stated “I breathed a huge sigh of relief this morning when I learned that over 30 million people will not lose their health care benefits and that provisions to protect the health of transgender people will remain intact.”
Kristina Wertz, TLC’s Program Director, stated “We celebrate today, but we must continue to press for transgender and gender non-conforming people to have full access to affordable, quality health care. We will continue to be involved in the implementation of the law to help ensure that transgender people are treated with fairness and dignity and have access to care.”
TLC explained that:
Studies have shown that transgender people face extraordinary barriers in accessing health care. In fact, the National Transgender Discrimination Survey conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task force and National Center for Transgender Equality found that 19% of transgender people reported being denied health care due to bias, and 50% avoided accessing care due to cost.
Dr. Nick Gorton, of Lyon-Martin Health Services, stated that “Transgender Americans are one of our most marginalized populations, disproportionately impacted by social and health disparities. Access to quality health care is a right every person deserves, regardless of gender identity. Barriers to primary and preventative care only serve to exacerbate easily preventable problems. President Obama’s health care reform law will have a tremendous impact on the transgender community just by ensuring access to the basic primary care that every American deserves.”
And finally:
Transgender Law Center receives calls every week from transgender and gender non-conforming people who are experiencing barriers in accessing health care, including routine procedures such as blood tests and mammograms. To increase access to care, Transgender Law Center has conducted hundreds of trainings for health care providers, worked with unions and corporations to eliminate transgender exclusions from insurance policies, and helped pass California’s Insurance Gender Non-Discrimination Act to guarantee equitable, discrimination-free health coverage for transgender Californians.
6 Responses to Healthcare Ruling Offers Huge Benefits For Trans Americans
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Polargirl
June 29, 2012 at 1:36 am
All this act does is financially compel people to buy health insurance even if they cannot afford to. The act will not compel insurance companies to provide transition related coverage. It will allow insurance companies to charge a premium to recoup the lifelong hormone maintance and other transition expenses whether it is covered or not due to being an assigned health risk. This is no different than a DUI convict being placed in automotive insurance assigned risk pool except , that DUI convict can choose to not to buy auto insurance without paying a tax penalty. If a pre-op transsexual woman cannot afford the $2,085 a year penalty, than they can be imprisioned with men and repeatedly raped for tax evasion. Thank you NCTE for supporting this act.
Jennifer
June 30, 2012 at 6:25 pm
There will be subsidies for people who can’t afford coverage. The only people penalized will be those who can afford insurance and choose not to buy it. I’m not sure what’s so threatening about a law designed to make health insurance available to everyone.
Bridgette P. LaVictoire
June 30, 2012 at 7:06 pm
I live in Vermont. While we do not have a mandate, we do have a sliding scale health insurance set up through the state. The only reason why I have healthcare (and can transition) is because of that. Just to add that into the debate.
Lisa McDonald
June 28, 2012 at 11:18 pm
Great so now I’ll have trouble accessing healthcare without being labelled Transgender or part of the LGBT. Fuck off Transgender Law Center and NCTE.
anonymous
June 30, 2012 at 7:30 am
Well… for the history of the country I (transgendered) have had trouble accessing healthcare.
So if some how this makes it harder for you to access health care to bad, now you’ll know what its been like for people like me. Maybe then you’ll drop the self centered attitude.
Jennifer
June 30, 2012 at 6:23 pm
Huh? Where are you getting that from? “Trans people can get healthcar” doesn’t equal “ONLY trans people can get healthcare.”