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I don't know what to do

Started by RoryM, May 06, 2017, 10:45:33 AM

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RoryM

Yesturday I went to a gender clinic to get information to make an appointment. I found out that without insurance an appointment would be around $650. The problem is I don't know if my insurance would cover it. I'll also have to file it without my parents noticing. I really don't know what to do with this situation. I was hoping to get more relief when I got from the clinic but instead I am unsure because of financial issues and my parents. Any advice?
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The Flying Lemur

Are you still on your parents' insurance?  If you are, that could be a problem because every month they'll get a report, called an estimation of benefits, listing everything their insurance paid for.  I suppose you could try to intercept it from the mail, since most people don't sit around waiting eagerly for their monthly EOB's, but if your family is meticulous in their record keeping they'll notice. 

What are you trying to get done at the gender clinic?   Counseling?  Hormones?  Surgery?  All three?  For everything except surgery there may be a way around going to someplace so expensive.  Some doctors will provide hormones on the informed consent model, which means they don't evaluate you to see if you're a "good" candidate, they just give you information about the possible effects, both good and bad, and let you make up your own mind if you still want to do it.  Any medical care without insurance is going to be expensive, but a typical GP appointment costs a lot less than $650.  Are you hooked into your local trans community?  You might be able to get names of doctors who prescribe hormones from other people in your position.  Ditto for the names of gender therapists, if you want to see one of those.   
The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are. --Joseph Campbell
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FTMax

Every time I use my insurance, I get both a physical and an electronic explanation of benefits. The electronic one usually arrives a few days earlier than the mailed copy. It lists what doctor I went to and what general code the service falls under, as well as what insurance paid and what my expected contribution to the expenses is. My insurance also has charges on the landing page for my policy that shows how much they and I have spent towards my medical expenses for the year so far. A few weeks after that, I usually get a bill in the mail for lab work and anything beyond my copay due to the doctor's office.

So if your parents is set up the same way, you'd have a very hard time hiding it from them. You would need to intercept their mail, delete their email, and hope that they never have a need to login to their health insurance website. If you are a minor, you would also likely need one of them to sign off for their consent for you to receive treatment. It is most likely not going to be possible to use insurance without the policyholder knowing about your visit.

What does the $650 include? Is this a visit with the doctor and lab work? Because that is sadly, probably about right in terms of what those things cost without insurance. You could ask if they do a sliding scale option for low income patients.

If you're young and not established in a career yet, I'd consider looking into jobs at places with inclusive coverage like Starbucks, Target, Best Buy, etc. Those are all nationwide chains with very low requirements for entry that would get you coverage for everything including surgery, so you wouldn't be reliant on your parents.
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RoryM

I am not a minor, however I am still living with my parents because I am finishing community college before going on to university. I have the same insurance as my mom because she is a teacher for the state and therefore gets benefits as well as my brother and me. I wanted to go to the clinic to get diagnosed, blood work, and then on hormones. I have already been diagnosed by two seperate doctors (a therapists and an autism specialist) with gender dysphoria and they told me to go get treatment at that gender clinic. However my parents are against it and my mom keeps sending me to church stuff to 'get closer to God' so that she'll feel better about my condition.
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Dena

The only way I see to resolve this is a meeting between your therapist and your parents as your parents will need to be on board with this. Other than that, you will need to delay treatment until you are on your own and don't have to have your parents agreement. As your therapist will be more aware of the issue between you and your parents, you should start with a discussion with your therapist to decide on a plan. There isn't an easy  way out of this one but one way or another there is a solution.
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WolfNightV4X1

That's a lot...well..relatively. Mine was about $400-$
500. I didnt have insurance, but I had a job. I charged the appointment on my card and paid it down monthly in as large chunks as I could. You only have to go to appointments for the first 3 or so months I think and it gets cheaper from there.

Its not easy but if you have a job that's something worth saving up for


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RoryM

Yeah I have been saving up money for my job but I really can't wait much longer. I've been getting worse depression and more suicidal as each day goes on. I really need to start something at least. But I think I may have figured out a way to pay for it without insurance. 
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WolfNightV4X1

Quote from: RoryM on May 10, 2017, 10:32:44 AM
Yeah I have been saving up money for my job but I really can't wait much longer. I've been getting worse depression and more suicidal as each day goes on. I really need to start something at least. But I think I may have figured out a way to pay for it without insurance.

Credit card, ordinarily I wouldnt suggest racking up debt but if you have a lot of money saved up but not a lot, you can charge the card, pay it down later. Seeing as you're already saved up some it may not be a bad decision long term and it's better than waiting months and months on something so psychologically important. Try signing up for one.

Credit cards are risky business though, so be sure to never use it unless necessary and have your income on hand ready to pay down large chunks as you earn wages. Put them away and out of sight when you no longer need them.

I dont know what you have in mind besides insurance but I hope it works out!


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AnxietyDisord3r

Since it hasn't been mentioned I'm going to suggest Planned Parenthood. Many of them already provide HRT so you might want to talk to your local PP doctor about starting. They have a sliding scale for patients who don't have health insurance. My local PP hasn't done it before but was willing to start when I was having some issues with my endo. Good luck!
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