San Francisco Public Healthcare Removes Exclusions to Transgender Care
By GLAAD, Wed, November 07, 2012

http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/gay-issues/san-francisco-public-healthcare-removes-exclusions-transgender-care

The San Francisco Health Commission voted unanimously to implement a resolution put forth by the city's Board of Supervisors that will remove transgender exclusions from the Healthy San Francisco (Healthy SF) health access program.  Healthy SF currently excludes transgender people from accessing medically necessary transition-related care.

"This decision will help get critically needed medical care to countless transgender Americans," said GLAAD President Herndon Graddick. "More and more medical authorities finally agree: nobody should be denied healthcare simply because of who they are."

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downloaded from the internet 11/8/2012 by MadelineB:

Breaking: Transgender Health Care Victory!
San Francisco Health Commission Votes to Provide Equal Health Care Access to Transgender Patients Covered by Healthy SF

http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org/archives/2365

SAN FRANCISCO – Transgender Law Center celebrated a unanimous vote today by the San Francisco Health Commission, the governing and policy-making body of the Department of Public Health, to implement the recommendations set forth in a resolution authored by Supervisor Scott Wiener and passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors last month which would remove transgender exclusions from the Healthy San Francisco (Healthy SF) health access program.

Masen Davis, Executive Director, said "Removing these exclusions will make a real difference in the lives of transgender San Franciscans, especially those who struggle to make ends meet. I am grateful for the leadership of our HEALTH Council members, Supervisor Weiner, and many others who have all worked together to make this happen."

Cyd Nova has first-hand experience being denied care through Healthy SF.  "Like so many of my transgender peers, my need for transition-related care was so important that I focused on it above meeting my other needs," she said. "Today, as a trans health care provider, I often see participants at the clinic who face the predicament of choosing between saving money for transition related care or meeting basic needs. This resolution supports a move towards a healthy and empowered trans community."

Once the change is implemented, which could take a few months, Healthy SF will offer a limited scope of transition-related care.

msn News


Calif. city plans to provide transgender surgeries

AP 24 min ago By Lisa Leff | Retrieved from the Internet on November 8, 2012 by SJ...after Susan posted the link!


http://news.msn.com/us/calif-city-plans-to-provide-transgender-surgeries



IMAGE: The annual gay pride parade draws hundreds of thousands of people to downtown San Francisco to celebrate gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender pride.



San Francisco is preparing to become the first U.S. city to provide and cover the cost of sex reassignment surgeries for uninsured transgender residents.

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco's Health Commission voted Tuesday to create a comprehensive program for treating transgender people experiencing mental distress because of the mismatch between their bodies and their gender identities. San Francisco already provides transgender residents with hormones, counseling and routine health services, but has stopped short of offering surgical interventions, Public Health Director Barbara Garcia said Thursday after the vote was announced.

The idea for a new program that included surgeries came out of conversations between public health officials and transgender rights advocates who wanted mastectomies, genital reconstructions and other surgeries that are recommended for some transgender people covered under San Francisco's 5-year-old universal health care plan.

At the urging of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and the San Francisco-based Transgender Law Center, the commission agreed this week to drop sex reassignment surgery from the list of procedures specifically excluded from the Healthy San Francisco plan.

wow that is great news!

So how does this work? if you have Medi-Cal and Medicare can you still get help for surgery from the city of San Francisco? Do you need to be a resident within the city or what exactly?

San Francisco to Become First U.S. City to Cover Cost of Transgender Surgeries

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/health/2012/11/09/san-francisco-to-become-first-us-city-to-cover-cost-transgender-surgeries/
11/9/12

San Francisco is on its way to becoming the first U.S. city to provide and cover the cost of sex reassignment surgeries for uninsured transgender residents.

The city's Health Commission voted Tuesday to create a program for treating transgender people experiencing mental distress because of the mismatch between their bodies and their gender identities. San Francisco already provides transgender residents with hormones, counseling and routine health services. However, Public Health Director Barbara Garcia said Thursday it has stopped short of offering surgical interventions.

San Francisco to cover sex change surgeries for all uninsured transgender residents

http://blog.sfgate.com/cityinsider/2012/11/17/san-francisco-to-cover-sex-change-surgeries-for-all-uninsured-transgender-residents/

Dang, I'll have to move there 

Just saw this news article!!

Great news if you live in The City!

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/SF-to-cover-uninsured-s-gender-reassignment-4046873.php

Wait, this sounds like socialized medicine so this must be bad?

This is SO good its hard to believe!!

I am so envious of my friends in SF!  I live outside of The City so it wont benefit me

Healthy San Francisco is money paid into an account from your employer based on the hours and salary you work under.  Everyone is not covered (for example I'm not because I have health care covered in another way), but it's almost like a medical savings account.  No city money goes into this at all.