I recieved the below in an email and I wonder how much it will really effect health insurance coverage for us; I know it is rather long but think it is worth a read.
NCTE Applauds the AMA Call for "Removal of Financial Barriers to
Care for Transgender Patients"
The American Medical Association (AMA) passed a resolution yesterday
calling for "public and private health insurance coverage for
treatment of gender identity disorder as recommended by the
patient's physician." The declaration, known as Resolution
122, "Removing Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients,"
was passed by the House of Delegates - AMA's primary decision-making
body - at its annual conference in Chicago.
Resolution 122 affirms the effectiveness of medical treatment for
transsexuals and the right to appropriate treatment. It also names
as discriminatory the categorical denial of health insurance
coverage for psychotherapy, hormonal and surgical treatments for
transgender patients, and reiterates the AMA's opposition to
discrimination based on gender identity. The full text of the
resolution is below.
"America's physicians are saying that transgender people, like all
others, deserve competent medical care based on what individual
doctors and their patients determine is healthiest for each person,"
noted Mara Keisling, Executive Director of the National Center for
Transgender Equality (NCTE). "Doctors and patients, not insurance
companies, should be making those choices. We are so glad that the
AMA has taken a leadership role against the rampant discrimination
that transgender people have faced for so many years in receiving
appropriate medical care and equitable insurance coverage,"
Health insurance coverage has been made into prominent national
issue recently thanks in part to a three year campaign by the AMA.
NCTE has prioritized ending health insurance discrimination against
transgender people.
RESOLUTION 122
Subject: Removing Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients
Whereas, Our American Medical Association opposes discrimination on
the basis of gender identity; and
Whereas, Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is a serious medical
condition recognized as such in both the Diagnostic and Statistical
Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition (DSM-IV) and the
International Classification of Diseases (10th Revision); and is
characterized in the DSM-IV as a persistent discomfort with one's
assigned sex and with one's primary and secondary sex
characteristics, which causes intense emotional pain and suffering;
and
Whereas, GID, if left untreated, can result in clinically
significant psychological distress, dysfunction, debilitating
depression and, for some people without access to appropriate
medical care and treatment, suicidality and death; and
Whereas, The World Profession for Transgender Health, Inc. (WPATH)
is the leading international, interdisciplinary professional
organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender
identity disorders, and has established internationally accepted
Standards of Care for providing medical treatment of people with
GID, including mental health care, hormone therapy, and sex
reassignment surgery, which are designed to promote the health and
welfare of persons with GID and are recognized within the medical
community to be the standard of care for treating people with GID;
and
Whereas, An established body of medical research demonstrates the
effectiveness and medical necessity of mental health care, hormone
therapy, and sex reassignment surgery as forms of therapeutic
treatment for many people diagnosed with GID; and
Whereas, Health experts in GID, including WPATH, have rejected the
myth that such treatments are "cosmetic" or "experimental" and have
recognized that these treatments can provide safe and effective
treatment for a serious health condition; and
Whereas, Physicians treating persons with GID must be able to
provide the correct treatment necessary for a patient in order to
achieve genuine and lasting comfort with his or her gender, based on
the person's individual needs and medical history; and
Whereas, Our AMA opposes limitations placed on patient care by third-
party payers when such care is based upon sound scientific evidence
and sound medical opinion; and
Whereas, Many health insurance plans categorically exclude coverage
of mental health, medical, and surgical treatments for GID, even
though many of these same treatments, such as psychotherapy, hormone
therapy, breast augmentation or removal, hysterectomy, oophorectomy,
orchiectomy, and salpingectomy, are often covered for other medical
conditions; and
Whereas, The denial of these otherwise covered benefits for patients
suffering from GID represents discrimination based solely on a
patient's gender identity; and
Whereas, Delaying treatment for GID can cause and/or aggravate
additional serious and expensive health problems, such as stress-
related physical illnesses, depression, and substance abuse
problems, which further endanger patients' health and strain the
health care system; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association support public and
private health insurance coverage for treatment of gender identity
disorder as recommended by the patient's physician. (New HOD Policy).
The National Center for Transgender Equality is a national social
justice organization devoted to ending discrimination and violence
against transgender people through education and advocacy on
national issues of importance to transgender people. The National
Center for Transgender Equality is a 501(c)3 organization. For more
information, please visit www.nctequality. org.
