so im wondering what insurance would cover stuff like endo visits, hrt meds, and blood work without having to go to primary for everything first? i looked around and only got more confused haha
Probably one that would be too expensive for most people to buy on their own. My SHIP plan at U.C. Berkeley is administered by Blue Cross/Blue Shield and even though I could get 90% of SRS paid for (if I were pre-op) it does not cover endocrinologists. HRT is administered by my PCP who was not sure what dosage a post-op woman should be prescribed. My co-pay for this policy is $1700 per year (paid in full, in my case, as I am on full scholarship.)
Where do you live?
If you're planning on going into an individual plan... good luck. I was quoted at around $170 / month for a decent coverage plan most companies that I checked into. I applied @29 years of age, non smoker, no heart history (good health etc etc etc)
If you think this is a good deal, think of it like this:
Typically hormones cost (me) about $30 a month (Estradiol = $12, Spiro = $10, Finasteride = $8).
Doctors visit costed me about $120 MAX per visit, once every 3 months. Currently I'm seeing a doctor that is covered by a plan instituted by the metro area I live in, $30 a visit unless you qualify for a low income program, in which it is fully covered (lab tests at a greatly reduced cost too).
Typically, every 3 months I needed lab work done. These ran about $250 on the high end, but I could pay down $10 a month because it was through a hospital.
So at maximum, I was paying around $75 a month (since my labs were letting me pay down the bill at $10 a month without reporting me to the credit bureau). Typically, however, my doctor was nice enough to cut me some slack and half the price of my visits. All in all, I was paying about $50-55 a month out of pocket. If you are not allowed to pay down $10 a month on labs, it still adds up to around $160 a month when all said and done, which was less than the quote on my insurance.
By the way, I was rejected by Blue Cross / Blue Shield for individual coverage due to the fact that I was at a "High probability for surgery" due to my history with GID.
thats my biggest worry right now, the endo appts i can swing no prob as well as the hrt, but the bloodwork is what im worried about, im 29 as well but no insurance. ive heard so many different prices for the blood work its scary! 200-400 i could maybe swing but more than that is really pushing it to the point ill have to sell my car and all my personal possesions :( that ive collected over the years that im really attaced to. i wish there was a website i could find that somone would donate to my blood work costs and whatnot it really gets me bummed out that i might not be able to start hrt becasue lack of money
i live in florida btw
Wait until you have enough posts then PM me.
Quote from: The Wagoneer on November 03, 2012, 10:28:16 PM
i live in florida btw
OMG! Probably the worst place in the country to transition. I started HRT there, I went to an MD who specialized in abortions and he wrote me a prescription and that was it. I have been on HRT for over ten years and have yet to see an "endo" although I have had blood work done when I have had a PPO or HMO. Like I said PM me.
well ive been lucky to find a psyh that is very trans friendly and hes going to give me a referral to an endo dr once i finnaly get back in town in the next few days. then start hrt as long as i can figure out how to afford the bloodwork and whatnot. my transition is going to be a ways off tho becasue i want to wait until my hair grows out so i have some hair on my head and get laser too. its going to be an expensive path for me but its who i am and what i want . heres hoping i can figure out everything. BTW how many posts do i need to be able to PM?
I think ten...maybe twenty.
ill PM ya once i can haha
I think you might be almost there...
It depends on the individual plan, generally, not the provider. Also, even though my plan doesn't cover trans stuff my doctor bills it as "Endocrine Disorder NOS," so the blood tests, check ups, etc are all covered and cost like ten-twenty, but I have to pay for the hormones out of pocket. But I think the generic pills are actually cheaper than my copay would be. My pharmacy gives a really big discount but so it's twenty dollars for spiro and estradiol, but these discounts are actually pretty common for generics and if I got it from a "mail order pharmacy" or something like that then it might be even cheaper.
QuoteBy the way, I was rejected by Blue Cross / Blue Shield for individual coverage due to the fact that I was at a "High probability for surgery" due to my history with GID.
That's really crappy.
Honestly I'm not surprised when hear stuff like that at this point though. It's like "Oh look, transsexualism is mentioned next to pedophilia as something that isn't covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act. Huh, well that sucks."
My plan has a specified exclusion for anything trans. My dr thankfully is very supportive. He prescribed me the needed meds but did something so nothing shows as trans related.
When I had company insurance, my doctor also wrote down the reason "Abnormal endocrine study", "Gynecomastia", and "Hypertrophy of the breasts" as reasons for tests and visits. Technically she wasn't lying :)
My old insurance emblemhealth did.
Also covered SRS, top surgery for FTM and bottom surgery too.