Blue States Doesn’t Always Mean Safety

For trans people a blue state doesn’t a safe space, there are always jerks who try to make your life miserable.

Guest Commentary: I moved to Colorado for freedom as a transgender man. Instead, I found discrimination.
Denver Post
By Dashir Moore | Guest Commentary
February 15, 2019

When I was a kid, my mom gave me Barbies, but I preferred to play with G.I. Joes. By high school, I was dressing in my brothers’ clothes. At Georgia State University, I first heard the word to name who I am: transgender.

I began living as male. I shaved my head and started getting fade haircuts. I started taking testosterone. My new best friend, the first to accept me for who I am, was another Black man. I was coming into myself, and that felt so good.
[…]
I heard that Colorado has a great lifestyle and excellent trans health care, with doctors specialized in gender-confirming surgery. In my soul, I wanted to go somewhere where I could be myself.

But his problems still continued even in a blue paradise when he wanted top surgery.

That May, I called the company that processed my health claims, UMR, twice and representatives said the procedure was covered at 70 percent and didn’t need preauthorization. (I didn’t know Denver Health called UMR for authorization anyway.)

I had no idea that after my surgery had begun, UMR had contacted Denver Health to deny me coverage. I only found out after I got a call at home.

After some investigation, I learned that my employer had negotiated a plan that excluded coverage for gender transition, including “treatment, drugs, medicines, services, and supplies for, or leading to, gender transition surgery.”

He fell down the rabbit hole.

Here in Connecticut the insurance commissioner ruled that insurance companies must cover all medically necessary insurance claims that are covered for cisgender individuals which is just about everything. Gender Confirming Surgery… Check. Electrolysis… Check. Breast enlargement or breast reduction… Check.

But if you call your insurance company they will say no to every one of those surgery, the key is…

• GCS, your doctor has to state that it is medically necessary and sometimes it helps to break down the surgery into its parts.
• Electrolysis, you doctors have to use the medical code for Hirsutism (ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code L68.0) but then you have to find a electrologist who takes insurance or pay for it out of your pocket until you get reimbursed by the insurance company
• Breast enlargement or breast reduction, your doctor has to state that it is medically necessary and sometimes it helps to break down the surgery into its parts.

The insurance commissioner ruling only covers insurance companies that are licensed to do business in Connecticut and that includes Medicaid (Husky). It does not include Medicare. Medicare is governed by CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) which currently has ruled that we are covered, that insurance companies must cover all medically necessary insurance claims that are covered for cisgender individuals which is just about everything but that may change with the current administration.

There is a monkey wrench in the insurance coverage and that is called the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and if your employer self-insured well you are up the well know creek without a paddle. And that is what Mr. Moore is probably facing, those companies that are under ERISA which is not controlled by state laws or CMS. Your insurance coverage is what your employer want to have covered.

And remember don’t take no for an answer from your insurance company. They say “no” because they know many people will not question the answer.

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For those of you that were planning on going to the National Trans Visibility March on April 1^st it has been postponed until September.

A Message from the Senior Strategy Director:

As the Senior Strategy Director for the National Trans Visibility March, I am saddened, but not defeated, to have to postpone the first National Trans Visibility March, initially scheduled to be held March 31 & April 1, 2019, in Washington, DC, to be held in September 2019.

WE WILL march stronger than ever, WE WILL march more prepared than ever…WE WILL march more motivated than ever…we will NOT be detoured for fighting for our equal rights, health equity and job security. It is my hope that transgender and gender non-binary communities, as well as our allied partners, will not hold the National Trans Visibility March at fault for the postponing of the march, but will continue to work with us, as you have been doing so diligently, as we continue our journey to DC!

As the Lead Organizer, I take full responsibility for not foreseeing time restrictions and the overall cost for such an amazing event. After re-thinking and looking over our planning, we did not allow ourselves enough time for substantial fundraising and relationship building. I have been speaking with several leaders across the country, very late into the planning of the march, and we realized we could not have the National Trans Visibility March on April 1st in part due to it being recognized as “April Fool’s Day” which meant re-thinking our route and securing new permits.

I am completely grateful for the support and amazing leadership from the entire National Trans Visibility organizing team! Before making this very difficult decision I consulted with many community leaders from across country, Maria Roman & Chela DeMore (Los Angeles, CA); Arianna Lint & Cameron Pizarro (Ft. Lauderdale, FL); Kiara St. James (New York, NY); Tatyana Moaton & Trisha Holloway (Midwest Region) and many others!

They believe as I do, this adjustment was necessary and fuels our mission even more! I will be working with all 52 of our ambassadors leading up to the march, bringing more awareness to voter registration, web-based training on community engagement and working with our policymakers nationwide.

The next 6 months WE WILL continue to raise money and build alliances across the country, WE WILL continue meeting with our policymakers, WE WILL continue working to End HIV by 2030, and WE WILL continue to demand equity and social justice.

In Solidarity,
Marissa Miller
Sr. Strategy Director