Expanded Coverage

One of the hardest things to find is a healthcare provider for our hormones; many doctors don’t want to treat us so finding an endo who will treat us is hard.

Planned Parenthood Trans-Specific Services Are Expanding To Some Florida Locations — Here Are All The States They're Available
Bustle
By Marissa Higgins
September 26, 2016

Planned Parenthood offers a huge array of essential health care services, treatments, and resources for people across the board — and now, Planned Parenthood's services for the transgender community, including hormone replacement therapy and mental health care, have expanded to a new state. According to the Naples Daily News, Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida — a region which includes Tampa, Fort Meyers, and Orlando — will begin offering these trans-specific resources in 11 of their clinics in October. Interestingly, these 11 clinics will be the first Planned Parenthood locations in the state of Florida to offer services specifically for the transgender community. (Bustle has reached out both to Planned Parenthood and Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida for comment.)

Of course, Planned Parenthood has always been open to people of all sexual and gender identities, but the expansion of trans-specific services is super important. According to Dr. Sujatha Prabhakaran, an OB/GYN and vice president of medical affairs for Planned Parenthood in the region, speaking with the Naples Daily News, these 11 clinics will now provide prescription-based hormone replacement therapy to trans people while they transition; furthermore, these hormone treatments will be available whether or not individuals opt to undergo surgery.

Separate from hormone treatments, these Planned Parenthood clinics are also offering cancer screenings, STI screenings, and mental health care referrals for the transgender community — all of which are hugely important, especially since many people in the transgender community lack equal, safe, and affordable access to medical care. Additionally, the Naples Daily News reports that Planned Parenthood of South, East, and North Florida also plans to add the services to their roster later.

The article goes on to list the states where they provide healthcare to the trans community, but the article don’t list Connecticut which also does provide cross gender hormone therapy, so the article might not have a complete list.

However, I have heard a couple negative comments about their service. One comment that I have heard is that they are backed up with new clients seeking hormones, that there is over a three month wait for appointment to see their endo but I think that is normal for any endo appointment. The other complaint is that they require more than informed consent to get CGH therapy, that they require a therapist for the letter.