What the Affordable Care Act Means for Transgender PeopleMarisa Carroll
August 14, 2012
http://www.thenation.com/article/169391/what-affordable-care-act-means-transgender-people#Kallio's case is not unique. Every day, transgender Americans face discrimination, disrespect, and hostility from both medical center staff and insurance providers, pushing many at-risk patients to delay medical care or put it off altogether. But if all goes as planned, the Affordable Care Act will transform medical care for transgender people.
Those who could get on a policy often struggled to obtain coverage for their care, whether it related to their transition or not. Most plans refuse to cover "transition-related care," which one might assume includes counseling, hormones, and surgeries. However, insurers have saved on their bottom lines by categorizing any treatment transgender patients receive as transition-related, from estrogen pills down to antibiotics for fighting the common cold.
The Affordable Care Act will end many of these absurd exclusions. In 2014, the Patient's Bill of Rights will prevent insurance companies from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions. What's more, the ACA will bring Title VII federal nondiscrimination protections to the health care field.
Another major ACA win is the funding for LGBT cultural competency trainings.
The most important piece of the ACA for transgender people might also be the most contentious: the Medicaid expansion.... Single trans people are among the 16 million Americans who will be newly eligible for Medicaid in 2014.
