Will Insurance Help?

We all know that transitioning is expensive and now that we have insurance it may put surgery in the price range that more can afford but for many others it is still out of sight for them.

High Costs of Transgender Transition Can Have Dark Financial Legacy
NBC News
By Reuters
November 1, 2015

NEW YORK — When Sara Davis Buechner began her transition from man to woman, she knew there were going to be emotional hurdles, like dealing with her family.

But there were financial costs, too. And she knew they were going to be forbidding.

Medical procedures like facial electrolysis cost $20,000. There was a year of therapy, required at the time to make sure Buechner, a renowned pianist, was a suitable candidate for transition - at $80 a session.

Since American options were just too pricey, Buechner opted for surgery in Thailand. The tab? $10,000, including flights.

But since Buechner transitioned insurance is now covering many medical procedures that we need,

Meanwhile, corporations have been slow to help. According to the 2015 Employee Benefits Survey by the Society for Human Resource Management, just 5 percent of employers offer gender reassignment health care coverage to their staff. That is up since 2011, when only 2 percent of companies did so. But progress has only been incremental.

Among larger companies, the numbers are more encouraging. One-third of Fortune 500 firms now offer health care coverage, including transgender surgery and related medical costs, according to the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index report.

In addition, the provisions of Obamacare - as well as state-specific laws in places like California, New York and Oregon - have been pushing plans towards transgender-inclusive health coverage, according to the National Center for Transgender Equality.

It has gotten easier for some of us but it is still way too costly many of us.