Problems with funding your gender reassignment

[Jake25]

I normally know that it's poor taste to talk about money, but I'm sure other people may have had this issue. Online is the place to ask things you would be afraid to talk about in real life. I want to know if there's other people who have had funding problems and if there were any loopholes or organizations to help you with this? I feel like my change is urgent and I'll have to be patient and save money towards it.

[FTMax]

I have a job that pays very well. But I live in a very expensive place and I have student loans, so saving money is not possible right now. I would make considerably less anywhere else in the country, so I'm not willing to move just yet. I have insurance that covers most of my doctor visits and lab tests. I haven't had them run it for testosterone yet, because I don't want them to know I'm trans. So I pay ~$50 for the doctor visit and lab tests, and $65 for my T and needles for 3+ months.

I paid for top surgery out of pocket ($8,450). I put it on a credit card that I get rewards for. I pay $500/mo towards the balance (by choice - my minimum payment is $100), and should be paid off by December currently.

Unless things change with my job/insurance, I will likely have to pay for lower surgery out of pocket. For what I want to have done, that's right around $25,000 for the procedure and all travel expenses (flights for two, meals, taxis, and an apartment in the country I want to have surgery done in). My current plan for this is to go back to school, see what insurance will pay for, and request student loans to cover whatever I can't pay up front. It's not a perfect plan, but it will ensure that I'm not immediately financially burdened by it. The plan is to hopefully have it done before starting my PhD.

My recommendation to you would be:

- Take a hard look at your budget and make an aggressive savings plan.
- Get some kind of insurance coverage. If you're in school, they probably have something available.
- Start building your credit. Get a low balance credit card, buy something small once a month and pay it off. This will help get you into a credit score range where you can raise the balance and potentially float your medical bills via credit.
- If you're in school, consider adding your transition costs to your budgeted expenses for the year, and financing them with your student loans. You'll have to pay for it in the end, but at least you can get what you need now.

[Lynne]

Unfortunately it is not rare that trans* people have problems with raising enough money to go on with their transition. The cost of transition depends mostly on your requirements.

I've read your introductory post and the problem is that these surgeries are far from miracles. It is not as simple as going in to surgery as a female and coming out as a male a few hours later. They can change some aspects of your body which can help greatly in some ways and the methods and results are constantly improving but for example even the best GRS surgeons on their best day can only create something that resembles male genitals but not exactly working the same way.

A lot of trans* people feel that they need to do all the surgeries as soon as possible to be happy and then they realize that starting hormones, living as the desired gender and being accepted is far more important for their happiness than having all the surgeries instantly.

As I'm not sure where exactly you live I cannot offer any exact advice on loopholes but I would check with your insurance company first if they can offer anything useful for you. Searching for local support groups can be useful as well as they know the local possibilities a lot better.

I think going one step at a time and re-evaluating your needs and possibilities as you move forward is the way to go. The best bet is to learn new things and get a better job if you can because it may not be possible to find loopholes or sponsors which can solve your financial problems.

[SandraB]

I know that you are looking for  answers and solutions. Take a look at these organizations:


Mod Edit- Links require prior permission. TOS 1

[Felix]

I've leaned heavily on the fact that my blood family is full of reproductive cancers. I got radical mastectomy so my chest looks more alien than male or female, and my shriveled uterus was removed in the service of saving the insurance money on future treatment. We had a coverage law passed in Oregon recently for trans healthcare, but I don't think I've ever had any part of transition therapy covered. When I've tried they fight it and say I'm not trans, or say my gender doesn't match the procedure, or say they aren't sure I'm the intended patient, or say the treatment isn't necessary, etc.

I don't know about funding. I've had help from individual friends so I could pay out of pocket for stuff when I couldn't handle it. My hormones cost a hundred dollars(ish) per year. Before mastectomy I got binders from people online. I got my name change with help from a local poverty/homeless charity.

You can email me with questions about specific needs. I might be able to help you connect with the right organizations but the gatekeeping is heavy enough I don't want to just list them.

[Jake25]

I have a job that pays very well. But I live in a very expensive place and I have student loans, so saving money is not possible right now. I would make considerably less anywhere else in the country, so I'm not willing to move just yet. I have insurance that covers most of my doctor visits and lab tests. I haven't had them run it for testosterone yet, because I don't want them to know I'm trans. So I pay ~$50 for the doctor visit and lab tests, and $65 for my T and needles for 3+ months.

I paid for top surgery out of pocket ($8,450). I put it on a credit card that I get rewards for. I pay $500/mo towards the balance (by choice - my minimum payment is $100), and should be paid off by December currently.

Unless things change with my job/insurance, I will likely have to pay for lower surgery out of pocket. For what I want to have done, that's right around $25,000 for the procedure and all travel expenses (flights for two, meals, taxis, and an apartment in the country I want to have surgery done in). My current plan for this is to go back to school, see what insurance will pay for, and request student loans to cover whatever I can't pay up front. It's not a perfect plan, but it will ensure that I'm not immediately financially burdened by it. The plan is to hopefully have it done before starting my PhD.

My recommendation to you would be:

- Take a hard look at your budget and make an aggressive savings plan.
- Get some kind of insurance coverage. If you're in school, they probably have something available.
- Start building your credit. Get a low balance credit card, buy something small once a month and pay it off. This will help get you into a credit score range where you can raise the balance and potentially float your medical bills via credit.
- If you're in school, consider adding your transition costs to your budgeted expenses for the year, and financing them with your student loans. You'll have to pay for it in the end, but at least you can get what you need now.

I already have a low credit score in the 500s. I will look into paying that back someday though. Its a few thousand dollars I owe. I'm not looking into further education. I just have a highschool diploma and am comfortable working in shops and doing a few blue collar jobs. I am good at living on a low budget however.

[Jake25]

Unfortunately it is not rare that trans* people have problems with raising enough money to go on with their transition. The cost of transition depends mostly on your requirements.

I've read your introductory post and the problem is that these surgeries are far from miracles. It is not as simple as going in to surgery as a female and coming out as a male a few hours later. They can change some aspects of your body which can help greatly in some ways and the methods and results are constantly improving but for example even the best GRS surgeons on their best day can only create something that resembles male genitals but not exactly working the same way.

A lot of trans* people feel that they need to do all the surgeries as soon as possible to be happy and then they realize that starting hormones, living as the desired gender and being accepted is far more important for their happiness than having all the surgeries instantly.

As I'm not sure where exactly you live I cannot offer any exact advice on loopholes but I would check with your insurance company first if they can offer anything useful for you. Searching for local support groups can be useful as well as they know the local possibilities a lot better.

I think going one step at a time and re-evaluating your needs and possibilities as you move forward is the way to go. The best bet is to learn new things and get a better job if you can because it may not be possible to find loopholes or sponsors which can solve your financial problems.

Yes I understand that these surgeries will be spread out over time and nothing will happen over night. I consider it a miracle that they can do any of it at all and people are happy with the results. I agree that it's important for the person to feel accepted as the opposite gender, but in my case surgery would help me accept myself better because its outwardly expressive and I consider my female body emotional baggage and am ashamed of it.

[Jake25]

I've leaned heavily on the fact that my blood family is full of reproductive cancers. I got radical mastectomy so my chest looks more alien than male or female, and my shriveled uterus was removed in the service of saving the insurance money on future treatment. We had a coverage law passed in Oregon recently for trans healthcare, but I don't think I've ever had any part of transition therapy covered. When I've tried they fight it and say I'm not trans, or say my gender doesn't match the procedure, or say they aren't sure I'm the intended patient, or say the treatment isn't necessary, etc.

I don't know about funding. I've had help from individual friends so I could pay out of pocket for stuff when I couldn't handle it. My hormones cost a hundred dollars(ish) per year. Before mastectomy I got binders from people online. I got my name change with help from a local poverty/homeless charity.

You can email me with questions about specific needs. I might be able to help you connect with the right organizations but the gatekeeping is heavy enough I don't want to just list them.

I have messaged you about this. I am sorry to hear that your family has so many cancers running in your family.

[FTMax]

I already have a low credit score in the 500s. I will look into paying that back someday though. Its a few thousand dollars I owe. I'm not looking into further education. I just have a highschool diploma and am comfortable working in shops and doing a few blue collar jobs. I am good at living on a low budget however.

If you're inclined to finance your transition on credit, you're going to need to work on your credit score. Mid-700s to start, I've been able to request credit line increases and special offers that enable me to pay immediately in full, and pay less in interest over time. Consider putting smaller expenses like therapy visits on a credit card and paying them off to improve your score.

There are a lot of paths you can take to transition. The best thing I think you could do to make your transition easier and improve your income/future quality of life is to either go back to school or learn a trade. You may have to pay for it, but you'll also have greater income potential in the future. When you couple that with frugal living habits, you'll be able to save more money in a smaller amount of time, which would enable you to pay for transition related things more comfortably.

[Lynne]

Yes I understand that these surgeries will be spread out over time and nothing will happen over night. I consider it a miracle that they can do any of it at all and people are happy with the results. I agree that it's important for the person to feel accepted as the opposite gender, but in my case surgery would help me accept myself better because its outwardly expressive and I consider my female body emotional baggage and am ashamed of it.

I can relate to the shame. I think hormones and top surgery will help you a lot in feeling better as these will change your outward appearance the most. Of course you'll probably still have problems with what's between your legs but I've seen a lot FtM people who slowed down in their transition after they were on hormones and got top surgery. I hope you'll find a way to get what you need, I know it's not easy when money is an issue.

[SandraB]

Jake: Without naming specific sites (as per part of the user agreement here), try googling "grants for ftm top surgery". There are five or so foundations that offer grants on a yearly basis. They are tough to get as so many people apply. But you definitely don't stand a chance of getting one unless you do apply.