Susan's Place Transgender Resources

How much was your endo at first, including all the tests?
If you had to pay out of pocket, how much would it have been, I mean?
I don't have insurance. I'm about to grill every endo in town for a straight answer. The one recommended to me's secretary wouldn't give me a straight answer. So before I call back, how much is normal?
I am not paying $600 for a bunch of tests when I've had the same tests run a zillion times when my PCP and specialists were trying to diagnose me and I had no insurance and didn't pay anything in the neighborhood of $600... not for simple blood tests anyway checking my liver and hormone levels and what not.

Over here in Wetland ;) Its about £250 bucks for an initial appointment with a gender specialist (private). Then 30 minute appointments after the initial it costs £100 to £150.. that isn't including bloods or anything as they are done at our local GP free of charge, however you can have them taken there but I am unsure of the pricing..

Jay

I am really hoping to have blood work done at a clinic (no insurance) and then see the endo. WAAAAY cheaper for me, but Who knows, some docs are weird. May have to just educate the local doc. Driving an hour each way for my therapist, then again for endo, plus associated fees adds up in terms of gas and time.

I had everything covered by my insurance plan.  But going by the current fees at the hospital where I work, I would say that it can be between $400 and $500 (initial consultation, lab work, post-lab visit & all the other little fees you have to pay).  Sometimes (and depending on age of course), purchasing a private health insurance plan after the initial visit with your endocrinologist can be convenient and beneficial, for you may end up saving out-of-pocket costs in the long run.  It doesn't always work that way, but you lose nothing by inquiring about it and checking your options. :)


tink :icon_chick:

I got treated by the Whitman-Walker clinic and didn't have to pay a dime for seeing the doctor. I also got huge discounts on my prescriptions.

That was years ago, before they figured out how to actually bill patients (and they sunk deep into the red). Now they'll bill your insurance. I had to cancel my insurance because it was doing me no good, now I'm medically uninsured, and unemployed and broke, so for this reason the Clinic is not charging me for medical care, they have a sliding scale based on ability to pay.

OK just returned here is what I am paying:
$346 Labs For first time labs, should go down to $160 after the first time. I will have them every tree months for a year, then every six months for a year, then every 2 years.
$154.50 to be exact hour long consultation, also going down after the initial visit.
Timing for me:
I will have my labs done Monday, she will have results Tuesday call script in for me, I pick them up then have an appoinment with her Friday to do the first injection.
Then I won't see her again until the 3 month labs again lower level/price labs.
I am geting my T from Lloyd Center Pharmacy in Portland (compounding like the other one just closer to my house).
Myles

My insurance covered most of it. 
My initial blood work was over $900, and I still had to pay about $350. 
The office visit was a typical co-pay, like $25.  I'm sure it would have been more like $100, at least, just to see the doc. 

I go back for quarterly blood tests, and those are about $350, but with insurance I only pay about $50. 

The estrogen is expensive.  I'll try to keep from disclosing too much info about what I take, but I am on injectable estrogen, and I go to the doctor when I need a shot.  Fortunately, the nurse can do it, so I don't have to pay for that.  =)

Admins can edit that if they need to, but hopefully it's not TMI. 

I think that's it.  I know what you mean about not wanting to pay all that money for your blood work.  It's somewhat important though, just so they can monitor what your hormones are now, and then they'll want to check again in about a month, and make sure your T levels are okay.  A current result is going to make for more accurate dosing.  Don't remember if you said your blood work was recent, so maybe it'll be okay. 

Good luck!

Well, for me it was 309.28.  My insurance did cover this though, however that is what it would have cost me out of pocket.

I should also note that this was just for the visit to the Endo.  All the bloodwork was seperate, and I have yet to see the bill (it hasn't shown up on my insurance claims yet, but it could take up to 30 days I think), however the insurance covered it.

I also want to mention what my sperm banking costs were, in case anyone is interested.  The semen analysis was $308.80.  I was also billed $110.00 for every two donations.  I did 4, so $220.  The storage cost is $175.00 a year.  In total, this cost me $395.00 as the analysis was covered by my insurance.

Just a bit more info that I can give out.

For me the jury's still out.  She charged me $150 just to see her, bloodwork will be billed- I'm figuring $300-$500 for the tests they did, but I dunno yet.  She is also making me go see a psychiatrist of her choosing to confirm my psychologist's diagnosis, which makes no sense to me, god knows what that will cost.  Then back to her again ($150) for the prescription ...if all goes well.

Meanwhile, the stress I'm feeling from continuing to spend 9 hours a day as a guy at my job (no possibility of transitioning there) has finally driven me to two mini-breakdowns this week, consequently my blood pressure is through the roof, another reason she couldn't prescribe yet.  I'm trying to save money up so I can quit my job (I will be doing my own thing afterward) and now I've got all these extra expenses I see no reason for, which are going to set me back maybe a month.

I'm so frustrated, I'm really about to just lose it.

Back to the topic though, I will enter my final results on my costs when they are all tallied up.  I'm sure they will be record-breaking if I count this psychiatrist visit >8{.  She must be good though, she presumably will be able to tell in one visit more than what my psychologist could figure out in 2-3 months.  I can't wait to bask in her genius.

Just had a follow up visit for the first shop and it was $51 (I think). SO that was my learn how to inject visit. Pay the same again in 6 weeks when my next follow up and dosage goes up.
Myles

Sorry, Hon.  Mine is covered by insurance.  Only $20 co-pay and labs are free.  I would hate to have to pay it out of pocket.

Janet

Mine was perfectly happy to give me an order for blood work, so I didn't pay for that (I had it done at my regular lab, free with my insurance). The consultation (which I left with a prescrition) cost a bit under $100. That was 100% out of pocket because of my deductible. If I switch to injections, I'll have to have another appointment to learn to do them.

I paid R1000 ($100 ish) for the initial consult with the doc. He just gave me a request form with the tests required marked, I went to a local clinic and had my blood taken, and the lab charged me separately for my tests, about another R1500 ($150 ish). We only did T and E levels though, along with TSH, which I'd specifically asked for.

Hope that helps hon. :)

Mina.

One thing I forgot to mention is I ran the labs through on my insurance so I could get the insurance companies discount, and am hoping they count the money against my deductible since they won't pay for it.
Myles

When I told my PC, I asked for an appointment because I was TS and wanted to begin transition.  She knew nothing about it, but she asked around and got me an appointment with my Endo.  When I saw him I told him what I wanted.  He sent me for tests and wrote the script that day.  And he changes things as I see fit and if he agrees.

Bryce,

First of all, getting an appointment with your PCP isn't going to make your rates go up. On the contrary, getting regular checkups and avoiding large medical costs from problems caught too late is something that will save both you and your insurer money in the long run. As for talking with your PCP, I had precisely the same experience as Janet -- except that my endo needed a letter from my therapist as well.

Seeing a therapist who has knowledge of transgender issues might be a very good idea for you if you are having issues discussing this with people. Also, coming out to friends is typically very liberating. I guarantee you that it's a bigger deal for you than it is for them.

my therapist ($175/hr) wrote my letter and recommended the endo ($150/visit, blood work included). I'm glad it's relatively cheap because I am self-employed and self-pay on everything. The hormones run about $166.18 a month.  The endo is also a gp so I've just switched over to him from my previous doctor, whom I wasn't too thrilled with anyways. Now my doctor only knows me as who I am, not who I was. I think I probably get a discount because of not having insurance.

i go to a free clinic here in dallas so my doctors visits are free, i do pay $80.00 forthe blood work though

What exactly is the point of the endocronologist? The nearest trans-friendly one to me is like 7 hours away, and hrt isn't exactly rocket science. I got my first scripts from my psychiatrist, his time is expensive so when they run out I'll get my doc to refill them. I'm happy and healthy and have great bloodwork so far...do the specialists do something in particular that I may be missing out on, or are they just how some docs like to do things?

Quote from: Becca on July 15, 2009, 02:48:33 PM
What exactly is the point of the endocronologist? The nearest trans-friendly one to me is like 7 hours away, and hrt isn't exactly rocket science. I got my first scripts from my psychiatrist, his time is expensive so when they run out I'll get my doc to refill them. I'm happy and healthy and have great bloodwork so far...do the specialists do something in particular that I may be missing out on, or are they just how some docs like to do things?

I'm not sure- seems like any good MD could write your prescriptions and do the blood work if that's all you need. I guess an endo would be for if you have complications or whatever, they're going to know maybe a bit more about it. Mine just happens to also have a general practice, so I use him for everything else as well.  :)

Now that I think about it, it's probably more a matter of experience. My psychiatrist had treated transexuals before, my regular doctor has not. She's a lot more comfortable with the idea of refilling his scripts than she was with writing the initial one herself. I might take the road trip in february anyhow. That endo is in Portland, the nearest actual human settlement, and it could be fun to make a weekend out of it.

It's more of a matter of expertise and insurance (the doctor's, not yours).

Insurance is different in many cases and tests are a separate charge.

Insurance? Ha! I innocently took my first HRT prescription to an ordinary pharmacy-- and the insurance refused to cover it, I had to pay $105 out of pocket. That was how I found out about the exclusionary clause in my policy denying coverage to anything transgender. The bastards. Then I found out the Whitman-Walker Clinic had a pharmacy, and they fill my HRT prescriptions for a huge discount, I get like 70% off, so the insurance company can go hang.  :icon_blowme:

Quote from: Hypatia on July 15, 2009, 11:03:31 PM
Insurance? Ha! I innocently took my first HRT prescription to an ordinary pharmacy-- and the insurance refused to cover it

Yeah...I'm scared of the same thing happening. I'm a member of the Oregon Health Plan. While it does have funded clauses for cross gender hormone therapy and mental health, I pay for the meds myself. It doesn't leave them with any reason to argue with me over anything so they keep paying for labs and doctor visits...and it would be way harder for me to take care of those alone than it is to cough up $60 a month for meds and remain inconspicuous. I've yet to find an ohp approved gender therapist or endocronologist, but I don't live in the city, and considering that I've been really, really happy with the choices available to me so far. People always kind of wrinkle their noses at the term "government doctor" but mine is absolutely fantastic. A bit of a battleaxe, but she has a good heart. For some reason Americans seem to think that socializing medicine would throw us into opressive communism and I just don't get it.

It's a national disgrace that we are the only industrialized nation that doesn't provide public coverage for the people's health care. If a nation does not care for the health of its people, how can that nation long thrive and prosper? We'll become less powerful and important in the world, no longer on top of the world, we'll be surpassed by Europe and China.

My counseling took all of 5 minutes so that was easy, labs were on an "order" and the only thing I had to pay for was the order of T and needles. That's something like $58 for 4 months' worth.

Hey Nero, I don't have insurance either and I'm having a hard time keeping up with the bloodwork/appointments needed... but just wanted to suggest to you to try a local hospital if you need bloodwork and stuff done. I went to mine in March for flu symptoms/problems and I don't have insurance and I'm unemployed so I had to fill out paperwork and didn't have to pay anything for that... basically that free-medical-care lasted 3 months so I got my bloodwork done for free later that month and just sent the results up to Dr. Murphy in Cleveland. I could probably do this again if I wanted to deal with the paperwork and everything again, I think you just have to redo the paperwork every 3 months or something.

I actually went to the endo for free the first time in May of 2008, that was just before MetroHealth changed their policies about out of county financial help... I got in just in time. I don't think they have ANY financial help for people out of Cuyahoga county anymore, which is why I haven't been back up yet, unfortunately.

But just wanted to point out that just because you don't have insurance doesn't mean you're screwed, there are programs out there to help!

OK I've been back to the doc (it's been 3 months) and got another office visit, prescription, and a sheet to take to the local blood lab which I did today, they drew 3 tubes of blood from me.

Funding has ended for trans care so I can still see my doc I just have to pay in full. So, it turns out that the charge for this office visit was $71, the lab tests are cheap like $8 each but may have been taken care of as part of the office visit, and the T went up a buck, $59 this time. So it's still not a big problem.

My Endocrinologist charges $200.00 for each set of tests. The office visit is included in that figure.