Posted on 12/11/2014 1:10:27 PM PST by SeekAndFind
If you’re a New Yorker who is dissatisfied with the original set of chromosomes you were dealt at birth, good news is on the way. Historically, various types of reassignment surgeries involved in switching genders have been considered to be either cosmetic or optional by insurance companies and have generally not been covered. These procedures are not cheap, so they remained beyond the reach of a lot of people. But now, Governor Andrew Cuomo has sent a letter to insurers in the Empire State letting them know that they are going to have to start footing the bill.
Now Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is warning insurance companies that they will no longer be allowed to deny gender reassignment surgery or other treatment to change a person’s gender, like hormone therapy, if a doctor has deemed that treatment medically necessary.
In a letter being sent to insurance companies this week, the governor said that because state law requires insurance coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders, people who are found to have a mismatch between their birth sex and their internal sense of gender are entitled to insurance coverage for treatments related to that condition, called gender dysphoria.
“An issuer of a policy that includes coverage for mental health conditions may not exclude coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of gender dysphoria,” the governor’s letter says.
I have to wonder if anyone is going to challenge this – assuming you could find somebody with standing to challenge it – because there doesn’t seem to be any sort of new legislation or even updated industry regulation taking place here. This is essentially just the Governor and his staff taking an existing law and writing a letter containing a brand new interpretation of it to the insurance companies.
As to the inevitable question of who pays for this, I suppose everyone will. If gender dysphoria is being lumped in with the general pool of covered maladies, then the insurance companies will raise their rates for everyone to account for the increase in costs. But as one industry spokesperson mentions in the article, we’re talking about such a small sliver of the population that the overall effect may be negligible. If that’s the case, I suppose I’m not going to be raising any major objections here as long as the procedures are only being performed on adults. I tend to take a very libertarian approach to such things, and what you do with your own body after the age of eighteen is pretty much your own choice, provided you’re willing to accept responsibility for any potential problems which it generates further down the line.
And there are clearly dangers to take into consideration. Long term hormone therapy, for example, requires very stringent oversight by medical professionals and can present serious complications even for those who are forced into it by menopause, early age hysterectomies or diseases forcing the the removal of various hormone producing organs. Surgeries, such as the mastectomy mentioned in the linked article, are also serious, invasive events and should never be entered into without careful consideration. (Because no surgery is without risk, including relatively “simple” ones which are done every day around the world.)
But if a person wants to do this and is willing to deal with the repercussions, that’s their call in my opinion. Should the rest of the population pay higher premiums on their medical insurance to cover them? That’s a separate issue.
About time!! Now I can get that penis enlargement surgery I’ve always dreamed of.
To which they should tell him to “shove it”.
Eunuch it’s all the rage and free
What about boob jobs too while we’re at it?
No
What about boob jobs too while we’re at it?
Why , are your Knees sore ?
Exactly right. Problem is those are mostly heterosexual choices. Screw them...
So New York insurers of intelligence, quit doing business there.
Otherwise, you’re all geldings.
These Democrats are getting sleazier by the minute. Have they no sense of Biblical principles?
So Cuomo, inspired by Obama’s example, ALSO wants to ba king, able to make laws by announcing them? What a time to live in!
Because everyone’s medical bills are paid and there’s plenty of money left over.
They’re PAGAN in practice.
And how long will insurers stay in New York?
They’re very good at sensing Biblical principles. They oppose them every chance they get.
Boy Cuomo is a total leftist. What keeps me up at night? President Warren and VP Cuomo.
You’re not the only one.
“In a letter being sent to insurance companies this week, the governor said that because state law requires insurance coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders, people who are found to have a mismatch between their birth sex and their internal sense of gender are entitled to insurance coverage for treatments related to that condition, called gender dysphoria.”
This is literally unreasonable. Perform surgery to mutilate the body into accommodation with the psychological disorder? They are fools if they don’t tell the gov to drop dead and let him sue.
I know you can’t throw a blanket statement for them all. . .but how can the church goers even begin to X the D box. We surely are past the Daddy was a Democrat therefore I am a Democrat times and “I remember what it was like during the great depression” mantra. Not to mention ethnic and race excuses. Don’t they care about their children and grandchildren? Many are going to have to move over while the newly arrived kids and crime-infested adults on the block step in line (and not necessarily the back of the line) to get their “fair share” which in New York may include a “new identity” paid by the taxpayer.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.