No Medicaid for Sex Changes in New York

[Butterfly]

No Medicaid for Sex Changes in New York
Leonard Link
July 28, 2009


http://newyorklawschool.typepad.com/leonardlink/2009/07/no-medicaid-for-sex-changes-in-new-york.html


The NY State Health Department has a regulation barring the use of state medicaid funds to cover the cost of gender reassignment and related treatments.  There have been several unsuccessful challenges to this over the years.  By contrast, I can recall a decision from decades ago ruling that another state's medicaid program was obligated to cover gender reassignments.  But that's neither here nor there for New York transsexuals who are seeking these procedures.

The lastest disappointment was rendered by U.S. District Judge Charles Siragusa (W.D.N.Y.), in Ravenwood v. Daines, issued on July 17.  Judge Siragusa did a cut-and-paste opinion, quoting wholesale from a ruling last year by District Judge P. Kevin Castel (S.D.N.Y.), who rejected a similar challenge to the NY Medicaid Regulation, the infamous 18 N.Y.C.R.R. section 505.2(1).  This provides that "payment is not available for the care, services, drugs for the purpose of gender reassignment (also known as transsexual surgery) or any care, services, drugs or supplies intended to promote such treatment."