I have blue cross blue shield from Utah. I'm trying to figure out where to start. I'm not out at work such as I can't be outed by asking my boss. I'm ready to be grown and go trough a doc for all my health stuff. Self medicating has serious downfalls. 2yrs in and honestly my mind is starting to go places I never expected. So help is def needed mental and physical. I know and understand that ins companies won't cover most of the hrt parts but anything can help. What can I do? Thanks in advance
In my past experience with Blue Cross and Blue Shield, they had online doctor and therapist listings, and telephone assistance. In the old days, they used to send out a book-like listing every year.
If you have your insurance card, it might have an 800 number you can call for information about your benefits.
After several months on HRT, lots of introspection, questioning and therapy your mind will definetly go places you never dreamed of!
I have BCBS also. They do have a fairly poor search function on-line. I think a better approach is through a local TG group. Get some names for providers and then look them up to see if they are in network. If not you probably have like a $25-40 co-pay This way you already know that they are TG friendly or not.
Not involved with a local TG group? Best place to start. It was a life changer for me.
All health policies I've had through work have specific exclusions for trans related services such as HRT and esp surgery, including therapy. A good read of the policy can verify what yours is. If it's a PDF a search for "transgender" or similar terms should get you there.
Some TG friendly docs I hear will also "Code" the charges so they will not be readily excluded by wording them in a grey area. For example my therapy is listed as general depression though we do do trans related stuff on top of general life issues. HRT I've heard similar stories.