Recently I've run into a financial issue, it's a common one... ready? I can't afford it all. My current job because of travel takes up anywhere from 50 to 70 hours of my week. I've been putting in apps like crazy but I can't get a 2nd job until someone hires me for a new 1st job because there literally isn't enough time between work, travel, & keeping up with my college work to get a 2nd job.
My job offers part-time insurance but it wouldn't cover my medical costs enough to be worth what I'd have to pay each week so I don't have any. Seriously, how do you guys manage to afford to keep up with bloodwork, get your name changed (for me that'll cost around $500 and can't file for the court to pay for it because I "make too much"), keep up with doctors visits, & pay for your hormones (luckily that doesn't cost me too much)?
I'm going to do a yard sale as soon as I get a weekend off to help with bloodwork costs but I'm totally open to suggestions and advice. So what do you all do? Thanks :)
I was fortunate in that my insurance covered blood work, counseling, and prescriptions...they just didn't know what they were paying for (this was well before the current age of computerization bouncing anything out of the ordinary). I did also have some expenses that I covered out of a healthcare reimbursement account. Never actually had to go to court for any of the name change stuff. And SRS was something I took out a loan against savings for and paid back across the following year (as well as wrote off on my taxes).
Being through with everything before the dot.bomb era certainly made life a lot easier...
Ann- That's awesome that you managed to do all that :) I wish things were slightly less difficult these days like they used to be.
Caseyy- Yeah, I still live with my mom and I know she would support me in a heartbeat if I needed her to but I pay bills, buy anything I need, and try to never have her have to support me. She pays to keep the roof over my head and while I know she'd support me if I needed her to I also know she struggles sometimes. She is helping me a lot with my name change. I gave her $300 to hold onto for me when I had it and she said since she was holding onto it if I let her borrow it until October she'd give me the extra $200 for my name change.
Ya know I wish I could move to Canada man :D it's a beautiful place from what I've seen of it. I used to travel up there with my grandparents for a couple weeks in the summer. I stayed pretty close to the Michigan border but it was still nice to see the Horseshoe falls and all of that.
Age plays a big role. Graduate degree, 3 jobs, and yeah, I'm >40.
If you're young, underemployed, and uninsured, it's hard. Are you too old to be on your parents' insurance? It's usually an option if you're in school still (assuming they'd let you).
Jay
That's true it does and being 20 with only one job to show experience doesn't help much.
Honestly my mom has incredible insurance but at insane prices. They want $200 a month for me to be on it. My dad lives up north but he isn't an option because we don't really talk and he wouldn't do it anyways.
Quote from: xAndrewx on August 10, 2011, 05:29:08 PM
That's true it does and being 20 with only one job to show experience doesn't help much.
You are not that much younger than I was at the time...but it was also a different era. I did it while at my first 'real' job...everything up to that point had been commissioned sales, mostly in retail.
It CAN be done ;)
Preach on...
This whole process is SUPER expensive (emphasis on super ;)).
I have a good job and make a decent income... and let me tell you things get pricey really fast. I honestly don't think MTF/FTM persons have any idea on how much this will all cost until you are smack dab in the middle of it. Anyway you cut it, it costs a lot of money.
I have a laser appointment tomorrow and have to pickup my meds... those 2 things alone are costing me close to $700.00 out of pocket. :-\
With difficulty and luck. I don't drink don't smoke, and pre-transition I rarely went out and after I was badly treated by the first GP I saw I got a part time job alongside studying for my degree. Part of me desires to horde things.
Amazingly these attributes helped me. I had savings of a few thosand pounds I used these for electrolysis and my hormones. Of course the flow of money is more important than the savings whitch is what I'm stuggling with now.
Quote from: JennX on August 10, 2011, 06:27:48 PM
This whole process is SUPER expensive (emphasis on super ;)).
Yeah, it's insane! It's keeping that fire under me to find a job ASAP, but I can't find anything that pays enough to cover my most basic bills. And that's with two college degrees and years of experience in many different fields.
Ugh... this job market sucks. :( I don't know how or when I'll ever afford anything more than my generic hormones that cost $20 every three months.
I have health insurance from my workplace though the cheapest option has a really high deductible and their fine prints outright said not covering anything related to transition (my pcp and therapist get their money fiddling with the system). About half of my pay goes toward transition and the rest to food and transportation and books and stuff. I live with my parents too but I can barely save anything every week.
I started to go back to school as I started my transition since even though my workplace's policy is nondiscriminatory against gender identity and expression, it offered no benefits (SRS and whatever you need in the insurance), and with the low pay I get, I would not be able to save up for all the things later that I had to pay all by myself.
If you desperately want to undergo it all right now or as soon as possible, maybe try to switch to full time employment and part time school if you can? That way you can earn the money you need to cover the visits and meds while you continue your education albeit slower?
Insurance covers bloodwork, doctor visits and hormones, but I still have to pay full price for electrolysis... and at $88 an hour it adds up fast.
Then there's the cost of a new wardrobe, makeup, shoes, etc... woman stuff is expensive! :o
Don't know how I'll afford it all. I have some a few thousand saved up, but beyond that I don't know. In the end it's all worth it though, whatever the cost may be.
I don't afford it. These days I can't even afford treatment for non-trans related things. Would love to move to Canada, are they hiring engineers who are trans?
I can't afford it at all - I have been selling off my possessions just to keep up with my $60 / month HRT.
I guess I just lucked out and chose the right career (software engineer). Due to my apathy about doing anything while I was still living as male, saving money was pretty easy. I didn't spend anything outside of food, bills, and the occasional eating out for the first 2 years. I started transitioning toward the end of my 3rd year and by the end of my 4th I had saved enough money to pay for all the surgeries I planned on having. My therapist had me do a genetic test, which came back as "abnormal male" so I'm hoping the insurance will pay for bottom surgery when that comes around next year.
I wish I knew what to tell you all that are struggling. :( Right now it seems like all you can do is keep chugging along and hope the economy gets better sooner rather than later. Don't give up on trying to find better jobs though, they are your ticket to freedom if you can find one.
Quote from: AmySmiles on August 10, 2011, 10:46:46 PM
I guess I just lucked out and chose the right career (software engineer).
This before or after transition?
Quote from: Pinkfluff on August 10, 2011, 11:20:41 PM
This before or after transition?
I started working about 3-4 years before starting transition. While I was in "guy mode" I don't feel that I ever projected a very masculine image though. Just easy to get along with, nice, and I at least tried to project a confident image in the interview. I am now full time and doing fine though. More people talk to me in the hallway, smile at me, and say hi than did before.
Try it on unemployment. Some things are just a no go, electrolysis, surgeries and ect. Basic living and HRT. Thank the gods for Walmart.
And I pay $300 month on alimony.
How much do you ladies and gents pay for hormones(if you have insurance, how much is it without insurance) and endo visits per year?
I don't know about the FtM side, but I was just looking at some prices last night for MtF HRT.
You can get Finasteride from Walmart for $9
Estrace from Drugstore.com for $20
With insurance I pay $5 for Spiro, otherwise its about $50.
So for the basic HRT the meds are going to cost you (without insurance) about $79, or with my insurance $34. In larger cities there are usually clinics that are either free or operate on sliding scale, including some GLBT "community centers" that offer free and low cost services for young transitioners (usually under 25).
The reality is, you need a good job with good insurance to afford transition. its going to take more then just a high school education to get those jobs. Education may not feel like transition, but in the long run you're better off when you can afford continuous HRT then the on again off again nature of most low income transitioners.
Im a Senior in University right now(going to grad school afterwards), and insurance has covered my therapy sessions, but the endocrinologist that I'll be going to doesn't even file claims for transgender patients, so there's no hope on getting that covered. They said it was around 150 for the initial visit and labwork and then 50 dollars for every follow up appointment. I'm not really sure how much hormones are going to run me every month, but I have budgeted for around 6-8 visits in the next 12 months. Do you think that's enough? They said every 3-6 months after the first few visits, so I am assuming so. And as Sarah stated, she sees her endo about every 2 months.. so yeah 6 visits per year. Oi. That's more than I've been to the doctor in about.... 10 years LOL
Thanks for the cost layouts, ladies. I really appreciate it.
I'm hoping that once I change my gender marker that I can get the scrips covered on insurance. It will cover hormones, but not for transgender patients, so I'm hoping for the best lol
Besides that though, I just hope that Testosterone doesn't take 100 bucks a month. Regardless, it'll be worth it. I do have a job online that I do during school to pay for my expenses, my dad helps out in anyway that he can(which understandably isn't a lot), and I also get overages from my school from excess scholarships so I'm very blessed in that aspect. I am able to pay for endo visits, I'm positive and co-pay for therapy visits - I was just a little worried about the cost of the scrips themselves lol
And I didn't know about a GLBT places in larger areas helping out younger individuals. I'm 21, and I'll be moving to NYC in a little over a year( I live in the middle of nowhere in Tennessee lol) so fingers crossed for that. I really appreciate you bringing that to light as well, regan
Again if any of you know any super cheap methods, let me know.
Survived on beans on toast for a month. 8)
Quote from: hyenateeth on August 12, 2011, 12:04:04 PM
Survived on beans on toast for a month. 8)
LOL! Sounds like me. PB&J and ramen ftw
Some of you seem to be paying way too much for HRT. You have to shop around a little, the Internet, local government subsidized pharmacies, LGBT clinics and such.
I did go to my nearest pharmacy and they asked for about $50 a month and this was a bit cheaper option than the 2nd closest one. I then went to an other pharmacy a little further away but they let me take up to 3 months supply so its not a big deal. I payed $38 for 3 months worth of E and S. Can't complain about that monthly price really, I drink more beer a month that that which i would always trade for the meds if I needed to. I shop for the wardrobe at Goodwill and such.
Makeup comes to about $10 a month.
My doctor has a sliding scale and I do blood work twice a year $150 each which I cover with my HSA.
LHR is a bit pricey but that's on my Visa. I moved into a smaller apartment to be able to afford that.
Name change cost in WA state $150 with $5 for each copy. Where do you people live to have to pay $500 for the name change? this is crazy, I am so sorry!
Overall the cost of surgery is what is breaking my head, but my daily dose of sanity is totally affordable.
I did find estrace on healthwarehouse.com for about half the price of drugstore.com.
Though the truth is, what insurance doesn't cover is only about $20 a month for me (for meds). I'm not inclined to shop around for the couple bucks it might save me. Call me lazy, but I guess I can afford to be lazy.
I agree that name change costing 500 dollars is crazy O_O
I'd have to pawn my PS3 and games for that kind of cash, and we all know that I can't do that lol
My T really isn't so expensive. It's around $10 per month once I factor syringes and such in. That's without insurance. My doc only wants about $60 per visit no insurance but the bloodwork and the name change are the expensive bits.
Got some apps in at places near by and got my fingers crossed. Thinking that instead of having a part time job and wasting my time on the bus maybe I can get a full time job closer and put in way more hours. Just hoping that a future employer will see past my legal name and realize that I'm not interested in special treatment :-\
Thank you everyone for the responses so far. It's been interesting and helpful to read them all. I just hope that eventually some of our hormones and such will be covered by insurance.
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ote author=stiltsk link=topic=103394.msg773038#msg773038 date=1313174895]
I agree that name change costing 500 dollars is crazy O_O
I'd have to pawn my PS3 and games for that kind of cash, and we all know that I can't do that lol
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Try 400 for legal fees, and 400 more for newspaper notification in Ca.
I am also over 40 (41) and my insurance covers nothing. My wife and I both work (she just found a new job after 6 months) and we saved when we were younger. After the first year the blood work costs drop, I only have it done once a year now so the costs are very minimal at this point. I had money saved to pay for top surgery and name change. I guess the only advantage to being older when transitioning.
Myles
$400 twice a year for the endo, T is $60 for 5 months.
I am undergoing transition through the Monash Gender Clinic in Melbourne, so a lot of my expenses , but not all, are covered by Medicare. If they were not it would be a lot slower.
Karen.
I know about the beans and toast thing. For me it was potatoes and eggs. When could buy food that's all I would get. I usually found ways to get food without begging. Happy hour was a great time in Silicon Valley when I was trying to pay for all the loans after surgery. I would just dress nice and go in for the hordeurves (sic) All I had to do was to get a gent to buy me a drink and I was good. I'd usually just get a diet coke.... and the food. I can't believe how I made it through those few years. My apartment was very near a park. I used to crash company parties all the time. I was such a sleeze when it came to getting something to eat. ;)
But... I did have an ace in my hand. I had a degree in engineering. If it weren't for that degree and the work that I procured with it, I don't know exactly how I would have managed.
Cindi
In the beginning (No this isn't going to be biblical) I was fairly well off, but as transition progressed I found that the money from my job wasn't cutting it. I turned to taxi driving after work, long hours, and dealing with the drunks on the weekend. It was a tough go but it helped out.
Steph
So far, not so well. Due to my job only being part-time and them not wanting to put me on full-time, I only make about 400$ a month. No other place in town wants to hire me, so I can't get a second job either. (Going to keep trying though.) I also don't have any form of health insurance, so, pretty much, transitioning and all that is involved with it, is costing me/going to cost me, everything I make for a long while.
As far as getting my name changed goes, I'm giving the 'Common Usage Law' a shot before I dish out 500$.
Sheesh, My HRT bill is about $46 per month. I am on a limited income and I don't know how long it will last. My roof needs repairs before winter sets in and my job prospects are waning even more. It is hard to get good medical in these hard times. Like everyone else, I am riding these difficult things out that are happening now the best I can.
Joelene
It can be expense, but here is some of my costs. HRT is 95$. Doctor visit is 128 every 3 or 4 months for check up and blood draw The labs are about $60. Laser is 150 which I am wrapping soon been going doing the laser thing since last October, then it is off to Electrolysis to finish the cursed white hairs.
I do have insurance, but it totally blows. I don't pay anything out of pocket to have the insurance, but it has a high deductible and I pay the full cost unless the price has been discounted by the insurance company and doctor and what not or something to that effect. Once my deductible is met then i pay only 20% of the cost which it should be met in December.
Basically I budget for everything now a days. If I want those boots I saw then I have to budget and save up for it, can't do the pay now regret later thing lol. I bring my own lunch now. I try to limit how often I go out to eat as well. I don't smoke anymore so I don't have to worry about that cost. Been trying to get another job that pays more but no luck yet, but I will keep looking.
Hmmm. Jenni, identical times on our tickers!
Joelene
I still think it's truly sad (and traumatizing for me, personally) that transitioning isn't covered by insurgence. Sure, there's the greedy folks (including Trans here) who say "I don't want my tax dollars going to some dude turning into a woman/I don't want my tax dollars going to some Trans who wants to look prettier when she just needs to go to church and forget appearance like I did." but the reality is that taxes get sent to the government in like a huge lump sum, and then the government divides it from there; it'd be a 1 in a Million chance that any conservative person's tax money would go directly to the cause they dislike. And yes, I'm talking about the my opinion that not only should Transitioning be covered by the normal health insurance companies, but by more-affordable government-backed insurance policies as well.
I mean, when I've been a hard worker and never broken the law in my entire life (absolutely no legal record), I believe that I deserve more benefits than someone in the ghetto who's out robbing stores and doing drugs every day of their lives, the very people who cost our government huge amounts of money, both by mooching and jail fees. Yet those people are given $50-a-month housing, almost all the medical coverage they need, ect ect just because they follow the rule of "making a child" (which is essential for many government plans, having a baby - again, just another way religious views and agendas control healthcare and living programs.) In the eyes of the government, we're somehow the lawbreaking fellons that deserve the least amount of medical support out of anyone in the entire country, despite the fact that our suicide rates prove that we need it the most.
On a side note, thank goodness transitioning medications are cheap, but the reality is that doctors vists aren't, and they're IMO required - I wouldn't attempt a self-medicated transition for it. However, even doctors visit's are slightly affordable, and wouldn't be a huge problem for me; the biggest problems are things like year-long therapy sessions (I would estimate this "RLE" thing costs an upward of $1,000 or more, and the suicide rate of waiting a year to transition is through the roof) that truly aren't needed for every individual, and overall, anything related to our medical care is currently in some of the most discriminatory phases possible. It's like if this country suddenly said "Hey, if you want to get on welfare, you have to pay $2,000 and go a year being homeless first for us to make sure you're right in the head!" But I also think that RLE therapy should be covered by insurance as well, and it's not. :-\
One huge problem as well is that government-backed insurance policies here do not cover dental care; it's truly horrible, literally every government-insurance dependent person I've ever known has rotting, black teeth. It's really just sick what this country puts people through, all in the name of "if you're not a hard worker who can't afford the most expensive health insurance (aka if you were born a happy straight person with rich parents), then you don't deserve to be healthy and happy."
You don't need 1 of year therapy with your 1 year RLE in the states.
By being a Scottish citizen. Consultations with doctors and gender clinics are free, HRT is free, SRS is free, a name change costs however much it costs to print a single sheet of A4 paper off your computer... I still have expenses, most notably hair removal, and extra cosmetics like FFS and breast implants are completely out of my pocket if I decide I want them. Still, the sum of money I have to drum up is minimal compared to what people around the globe have to pay. I'm extremely aware of how lucky I am to have been born where I was, and I am truly amazed and moved at what many transgender people abroad have to go through, struggling with the question of finance on top of the already crushing difficulties of coming to terms with who you are. I can't even begin to tell you how much admiration I have for the strength and resourcefulness of many of you. I could never do what you do. :)
There's insurance companies that are helpful to transfolk - like Cigna, for example, they even cover SRS surgeries. There are some others I've researched but have forgotten. When I go for blood work every 3 months that's covered if it's coded under a "Wellness" visit. Not sure if I can get T through insurance yet, but I'm working on it.
Yeah! Move to GB or Canada! I've been wondering about moving just for health care coverage. I don't need surgery, that is long behind me. But our insurance bill is killing us. I can't believe how much more we pay than others around us.
It's not the insurance companies. They will write whatever policy you want and are willing to pay for.
Quote from: tekla on August 21, 2011, 11:11:28 PM
It's not the insurance companies. They will write whatever policy you want and are willing to pay for.
Not entirely true. I had a friend who could not get health insurance at any price. And she didn't have anything wrong with her. She had been prescribed heart medication by mistake 20 years ago. She finally did manage to get A policy, not one of her choosing, through this lottery we have in CA where the insurance companies have to provide insurance for a few "uninsurables" each year.
Most insurance was not invented for individuals, but rather as a way to pool risk among a large group. The idea being that after you pay in your lifetime of payments, it will be enough to cover your last year (on actuarial tables - the 10 Commandments of Insurance Companies - over 90% of a person's lifetime medical expenses will occur in the last year of life). Obviously, what many people here want is a payout, without the buy in, and I don't see that as a working business model.
Quote from: tekla on August 21, 2011, 11:34:09 PM
Most insurance was not invented for individuals, but rather as a way to pool risk among a large group. The idea being that after you pay in your lifetime of payments, it will be enough to cover your last year (on actuarial tables - the 10 Commandments of Insurance Companies - over 90% of a person's lifetime medical expenses will occur in the last year of life). Obviously, what many people here want is a payout, without the buy in, and I don't see that as a working business model.
Yeah, that's how it goes. That's the model we use.
How do I afford it all? I don't. I have pretty good insurance through my employer, but it specifically excludes SRS/GRS. It doesn't even cover therapy under a GID/GD diagnosis. Aside from irregular visits to the therapist out-of-pocket and infrequent shopping trips to Kohl's or JCPenny, I am pretty much stuck financially. I can't even go full-time non-op right now because portions of my workplace not under my employer's control are significantly trans-hostile. I'm working to find a better job, but the market stinks so very bad around here right now. It really gets me down at times, but I just sock away what little money I can spare and tell myself it's gotta get better eventually. At least I have a core group of friends who know the truth and accept me for who I am and a wonderful spouse who loves me even more now than before, if that's possible.
Oof, I just realized how late (er, early) it is. Between being tired and having a high dysphoria night, I think it's time to go to bed and recharge for tomorrow. Nite all!
Misc.
1.The Cigna policy we have at my office does not pay for SRS sevices. They do cover my bloodwork and meds. Some specific company requested policies through Cigna may cover SRS. Probably only large Companies.
2. Most people in US are covered under Medicare in their last year of life. Remember "death panels?" They would have given short termers info on possibly going with hospice. Far cheaper, fewer machines, less cutting, often kinder and certainly more dignified. The "hospital/doctor money machine" gets cut out of the equation though. Can't have that so lets call it a death panel and scare people.
3 some states have "guaranteed issue" health insurance. Google it. Insurance in those states is a little more expensive because of it. ONE of the problems with heath care in US is that people get treated whether they can pay or not. Statistics show that they don't get as good care as insureds do, but it is still very expensive. Those costs are absorbed by the hospitals. They don't actually pay their doctors less that week, they just add it to your bill through a process called "cost shifting" It is estimated that about $1500.00 of your yearly family med.ins. bill is from those costs. The new heath care bill makes most people have insurance so they pay for their own expenses.
4. often, if you can get insurance in many states if you have your own company. Sometimes it is possible to run your income through it as a vender rather than an employee. Lots of technical rules. If you are paying on your own, then you must itemize and can only deduct >7.5% of your income. And then only to the extent that all deductions >standard deduction. Business owners can deduct all of it without any of those restrictions. That always seemed silly to me if we want people to have heath insurance.