Seattle Mayor Says Transitions Should Be Covered for Employees

[Natasha]

Seattle Mayor Says Transitions Should Be Covered for Employees

http://www.bilerico.com/2011/05/seattle_mayor_says_transitions_should_be_covered_f.php
May 12, 2011 10:30 AM
Alex Blaze

When most of the city's approximately 10,000 employees seek mental health care, steroid treatments, or a variety of other services, they don't need to prove medical necessity to be covered under the city's employee benefits plan. But once an employee has been classified by the city's insurance carrier as transgender, those services are "universally denied," says the Seattle LGBT Commission in a letter to city officials. "First and foremost, transgender medical treatment is not cosmetic. It is necessary medical treatment. Psychological care, hormonal treatments, and surgical procedures are all medically necessary for transgender-identified individuals."