How much does transitioning cost in the US?

[Lexi Nexi]

I actually wrote a really long thread on this but somehow deleted it right before posting  : I know there are lots of different procedures as well as different levels of transitioning

I had a plan to come up with more then enough by the end of 2018 but that fell through: In the last three years I suffered two back to back disabilities that were totally unrelated. I lost:
My business/career/job
savings
car
driving ability
alot of working ability
my living arrangements
fiance'
credit
Alot of ability to work
And most recently the ability to make enough for alot of transitioning money by the end of this year. Oh well If I learned anything its that life isn't fair and some people have it much worse then others and the difference is whether you let it destroy you/kill yourself or not. I choose not.

I have insurance but have no idea if it even pays for the meds but suspect thats all it will pay for.

Things I think I need:
estrogen but not spirolactone
torso laser hair removal
face hair removal
breasts maybe
butt reshaping
SRS maybe after I find a husband in the next few years
some sort of face surgery maybe

Don't need:
adams apple shaving
other types of hair removal

Trying to get a ball park in case I can think of way to raise/earn money

I do have alot of business/sales/marketing skills that I might be able to use but rule number one with that is come up with some minimum numbers.

Wish this country was like any modern country and had real health care and not for profit care. I have probably spent enough time in my youth protesting/organizing for health care that if I used all that time at a job I could of had the money for it instead.

[Doreen]

I actually wrote a really long thread on this but somehow deleted it right before posting  : I know there are lots of different procedures as well as different levels of transitioning

I had a plan to come up with more then enough by the end of 2018 but that fell through: In the last three years I suffered two back to back disabilities that were totally unrelated. I lost:
My business/career/job
savings
car
driving ability
alot of working ability
my living arrangements
fiance'
credit
Alot of ability to work
And most recently the ability to make enough for alot of transitioning money by the end of this year. Oh well If I learned anything its that life isn't fair and some people have it much worse then others and the difference is whether you let it destroy you/kill yourself or not. I choose not.

I have insurance but have no idea if it even pays for the meds but suspect thats all it will pay for.

Things I think I need:
estrogen but not spirolactone
torso laser hair removal
face hair removal
breasts maybe
butt reshaping
SRS maybe after I find a husband in the next few years
some sort of face surgery maybe

Don't need:
adams apple shaving
other types of hair removal

Trying to get a ball park in case I can think of way to raise/earn money

I do have alot of business/sales/marketing skills that I might be able to use but rule number one with that is come up with some minimum numbers.

Wish this country was like any modern country and had real health care and not for profit care. I have probably spent enough time in my youth protesting/organizing for health care that if I used all that time at a job I could of had the money for it instead.

Torso hair removal... HRT might take care of that, and if not there's always an epilady to yank the lil buggers out.  Or the more expensive route is laser for it. 

If you get all the 'surgical' options in the USA then its gonna cost you more than if you, say, go to thailand or mexico or even canada.   Just keep in mind there are less costly (but not necessarily 'cheap') options out there.

Breasts can be obtained via HRT too. The cheapest option is usually the estradiol pill. (or premarin).

Personally I'd give HRT a couple years before going into major expenditures.  There is also things like selling plasma, flea markets, etc.. to help the cash flow.

Hope this helps.

[Devlyn]

Here in Massachusetts you get HRT and GRS  done for the price of your insurance premiums, plus your deductible. For me that was $12,500.

FFS, hair removal, and butt lifts are almost always going to be deemed cosmetic and won't be covered.

Hugs, Devlyn

[Daniellekai]

I agree, been on hormones only 6 months- butt and breasts may not be required, mine are noticeably different. Not as big as I'd like, but certainly still growing, probably for another couple years.
I shaved a test spot on my chest, 3 days later I've got barely more than stubble there, I'm hoping it goes away on its own, but women in my family are a bit hairy, so I may have to get it done... There's certainly a reduction though.

As far as costs, everything varies hugely unfortunately. SRS, and hormones are required to be covered on insurance in CT so I don't have to worry about that, but hair removal, face surgery is NOT covered.

[RobynTx]

So far insurance is paying for all of my HRT meds.  I paid for the therapist, one round of lab work, and a visit with planned parenthood. 

HRT is taking care of breasts and some of my appearance. I haven't thought about any other surgical options since I've only been on HRT for a short time.

Other stuff to consider is clothing.  That will cost a great deal, especially if your body keeps changing sizes.  Another is diet.  Healthier foods is usually more expensive and some foods will be off limits while on certain types of HRT medications.

Then there is the emotional cost to think about.

[KarynMcD]

Insurance coverage and other costs vary by state and region.
Where do you live?

[Janes Groove]

Q.  How much does transitioning cost in the US?

A.  Depends on how good an insurance coverage plan you can afford.

[Devlyn]

Q.  How much does transitioning cost in the US?

A.  Depends on how good an insurance coverage plan you can afford.

In MA, all insurers, even that provided by the state to low income residents at no charge,  is required to cover it.

Y'all need to put pressure on your legislators. 

Hugs, Devlyn

[Janes Groove]

In MA, all insurers, even that provided by the state to low income residents at no charge,  is required to cover it.

Y'all need to put pressure on your legislators. 

Hugs, Devlyn

Massachusetts is the best.  But I still hate the Patriots.

[Devlyn]

psssst, don't tell anyone,  but I don't like them either. Or the Red Sox!

[Lexi Nexi]

Insurance coverage and other costs vary by state and region.
Where do you live?

MD.

I know you can go to other countries but I can not justify have a medical mistake because of money. A 1% risk is far too great for me. I considered living in MA since i have a family member up there but I have other medical issues and their winter times give me really bad depression so bad that it is really threat to my life. I have another doctor here for my back that I have to see monthly because no one else can get/will despence that type of narcotic medication that only they will prescribe and I know my pharmacist personally: most pharmacies don't want to dispense narcotics monthly he says I'm one of five patients he does it for and the only person he will order this medication for. Without it I can't get out of bed. The idea of trying to find both things in another state with in 30 days seems impossible and you can't just stop taking these meds. I get life threatening seizures if I go off them too fast.

[Lexi Nexi]

Massachusetts is the best.  But I still hate the Patriots.

Whats great about being a girl I can stop pretending I like sports. Sports are so boring to me. I really don't get it. I'm one  of those people that used to wonder why footbal players stop playing 8 seconds after they throw the ball.

[KarynMcD]

MD.

Good news then. Since 2017, MD requires coverage.

State officials have told insurers who sell health plans to small businesses, individuals and students that they can't exclude coverage of care related to gender transition.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/blog/bs-hs-insurance-transition-20160210-story.html
and for Medicaid
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/gay-in-maryland/gay-matters/bs-gm-maryland-moving-to-expand-transgender-care-under-medicaid-20141121-story.html

[Lexi Nexi]

Good news then. Since 2017, MD requires coverage.http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/blog/bs-hs-insurance-transition-20160210-story.html
and for Medicaid
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/gay-in-maryland/gay-matters/bs-gm-maryland-moving-to-expand-transgender-care-under-medicaid-20141121-story.html

Thank you for this! I actually have medicare (medicare for all!). My whole life I have wanted the ACA or medicare for all and when I finally get it the republicans are trying to take it away. You can't win in this country. I actually moved to maryland because at the time it was very democratic. Sucks that you can't live in any state you want if you are trans. I thought america was about freedom? For me that is a freedom.

[Devlyn]

Massachusetts has a Republican sponsored transgender bill of rights.  The problem isn't party related, it's geography related.

[tgirlamg]

Hey Little Sister!

Yeah, Don't put any money into the chest hair removal stuff until HRT has a chance... I had a pretty hairy chest and it all went away without any laser or electro...

Hugs!!!

Big Sister! 😀❤️🌻

[Lexi Nexi]

Hey Little Sister!

Yeah, Don't put any money into the chest hair removal stuff until HRT has a chance... I had a pretty hairy chest and it all went away without any laser or electro...

Hugs!!!

Big Sister! 😀❤️🌻

I will be getting one treatment on the chest next week with my face. Shaving it makes it smooth for only a few days and takes so much time and razor burn. The biggest things holding me back from looking female is my short hair and face/chest hair. After that I don't plan on doing much else as the hormones seem to be working really well and my dose is still low and letting my natural femininity come out alot faster and more then I expected..

[kitchentablepotpourri]

MD.

I know you can go to other countries but I can not justify have a medical mistake because of money. A 1% risk is far too great for me. I considered living in MA since i have a family member up there but I have other medical issues and their winter times give me really bad depression so bad that it is really threat to my life. I have another doctor here for my back that I have to see monthly because no one else can get/will despence that type of narcotic medication that only they will prescribe and I know my pharmacist personally: most pharmacies don't want to dispense narcotics monthly he says I'm one of five patients he does it for and the only person he will order this medication for. Without it I can't get out of bed. The idea of trying to find both things in another state with in 30 days seems impossible and you can't just stop taking these meds. I get life threatening seizures if I go off them too fast.

I had my second feminization surgery in Thailand, and did not have any complications; and I had my third feminization surgery here in the USA, but in another state, and I had complications that took months to resolve, and I had a difficult time finding Doctor that would take on the responsibility, and since my surgeon was on the other side of the country I didn't have immediate access to him.  The point I'm making is that complications, although unlikely, can and do happen,
and if my surgeon was on the other side of the planet, things would have been more difficult.  I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from going outside of the country for surgery, but maybe it would be better to stay in country for an extended period of time post op, just to make sure you will not have complications after you return home.

[Lexi Nexi]

I had my second feminization surgery in Thailand, and did not have any complications; and I had my third feminization surgery here in the USA, but in another state, and I had complications that took months to resolve, and I had a difficult time finding Doctor that would take on the responsibility, and since my surgeon was on the other side of the country I didn't have immediate access to him.  The point I'm making is that complications, although unlikely, can and do happen,
and if my surgeon was on the other side of the planet, things would have been more difficult.  I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from going outside of the country for surgery, but maybe it would be better to stay in country for an extended period of time post op, just to make sure you will not have complications after you return home.

What kind of complications? Your surgery worked great by the way! I'm really hoping that I won't have to do anything to my face. Everyone says that I won't and let hormones and let make up, if I need it, to do the work. But still I can't say how I look like a boy in the mirror but just do even though everyone else says I don't, not a man but a boy.  How do you know if a doctor is good in thailand? They don't exactly have yelp to review or a legal system if things go wrong. How much did it cost? Why did you need surgery?

I looked into medicare paying for things other then hormones and SRS; even if you do have well diagnosed/documented GID. I asked a group of lawyers/trans advocates. They said that places might treat you under the assumption of medicare repaying but you always end up with the bill if they even treat you without money up front. It's a matter  of getting laws changed and this administration is not going to let that happen. It's like gay marriage if it's legal and you are straight it doesn't effect you. If you are gay it's a huge impact on your life. Why do people meddle in things that don't have anything to do with them?

[CarlyMcx]

Once upon a time (about two years ago) someone on a forum somewhere (maybe this one) itemized the entire cost of her transition from start to finish, including clothes shopping.  Her insurance was pretty basic and covered hormones and GCS but not BA or FFS.  Her carefully itemized total was a little less than $100,000.00.

One of my conversations with myself before I started transition was, "Could you be happy just buying a pre owned Aston Martin or Ferrari or do you really need to do this?"

Well here I am, and I've probably spent $16,000.00 on co-pays and deductibles since I started nearly two years ago.  Fortunately I now have a zero deductible health plan through my wife's employer.

But the reality is, if you are MTF and older like me, this can get very expensive.