Why Are They Always Picking On Us.

The military ban is the subject of a House hearing and new data just came out about the cost of our healthcare in the military.

Military spent about $8M on transgender care since 2016
KCBY
by Julie Watson and Jennifer McDermott
February 27, 2019

[…]
Trump has cited "tremendous medical costs" as a reason for the ban.

According to new data from the Defense Department provided to the House Armed Services Committee ahead of the hearing, the military has spent about $8 million on transgender care since 2016. The military's annual health care budget tops $50 billion. The Associated Press obtained the data Wednesday.

The hearing will be held by a subcommittee chaired by Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier who introduced bipartisan legislation in February that would prohibit the Department of Defense from denying the enlistment or continued service of transgender people if Trump's ban takes effect.

USA Today broke down the cost and compared it to other medical expenses.

Through Feb. 1, the cost of treating troops with the diagnosis of gender dysphoria has totaled $7,943,906.75. That included 22,992 psychotherapy visits, 9,321 prescriptions for hormones and 161 surgical procedures. Surgeries performed included 103 breast reductions or mastectomies, 37 hysterectomies, 17 "male reproductive" procedures and four breast augmentations. Psychotherapy sessions cost nearly $5.8 million and surgery cost more than $2 million, according to the data.
[…]
Brad Carson, the Pentagon's former top personnel official and one of the architects of the Obama-era policy, said Wednesday that the number of transgender troops is smaller than anticipated, as is the cost of treating of treating them. He noted that the Pentagon spends about $50 billion per year on health care.

Pink News reports that…

It is far less than the $84 million spent annually by the military on Viagra and erectile dysfunction medication, and the $437 million spent annually on military bands.

Meanwhile in the House yesterday,

In a first, active duty transgender service members will testify before Congress on policy, potential ban
Military Times
By: Tara Copp
February 27, 2019

Army Capt. Alivia Stehlik spent December 2018 deployed in Afghanistan with the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, volunteering to take the place of another soldier who could not deploy.

But even as she filled the combat billet, providing physical therapy to the brigade and military personnel throughout Afghanistan, the Pentagon and White House were working toward a plan to keep others like her from serving, because Stehlik is transgender.

On Wednesday, Stehlik and Navy Lt. Cmdr. Blake Dremann will be the first active-duty transgender personnel to testify before Congress as part of a panel looking at how President Donald Trump’s transgender policy impacts their ability to serve.
[…]
The issue of whether transgender personnel will be allowed to continue to serve is now tied up in the courts, more than a year and a half after Trump’s initial tweets upended a policy that had allowed Stehlik and others to serve openly. In January, a Circuit Court sided with the White House, in one of the four federal cases challenging the policy. The court ruled that the process former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis took to implement the president’s directive was sufficient and did not result in a blanket ban, something Stehlik and advocacy groups strongly disagree with.

What it all boils down to is that the Republicans hate our guts and will use their hate to raise campaign funds over our trampled bodies.