It's frustrating that so many of these people who are trying to obtain the surgery they need can't just get into the program. Instead, we have had to position the need on a biological basis, as correcting a birth defect, and we're trying to show a pattern on MRI of the brain, but that means you have to demonstrate that difference or you would be denied coverage.
Cosmetic surgery isn't covered by insurance unless it's necessitated by some underlying medically verifiable condition.
No doubt I will get flamed for writing this, but I think the whole "medical justification" model of transgender reassignment is bullshit. It goes along with the medical model for depression, which I also think is bullshit in the majority of cases: The brain is a very supple organ that's susceptible to many, many feedback loops, including exercise, full spectrum sunlight, Vitamins B & D, orgasms, and yes, Prozac. But it isn't like diabetes. There are lots of ways to shake it.
Gender reassignment is a body mod. I think, have always thought, that people should be able to do anything they want with their bodies. Whether I should pay for what other people want to do with their bodies -- either through my taxes or by accepting that person and their desire for expensive surgery into my risk pool, thereby boosting the likelihood that my own insurance rates are going to go up -- is another matter altogether.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2016-05-01 02:53 pm (UTC)Cosmetic surgery isn't covered by insurance unless it's necessitated by some underlying medically verifiable condition.
No doubt I will get flamed for writing this, but I think the whole "medical justification" model of transgender reassignment is bullshit. It goes along with the medical model for depression, which I also think is bullshit in the majority of cases: The brain is a very supple organ that's susceptible to many, many feedback loops, including exercise, full spectrum sunlight, Vitamins B & D, orgasms, and yes, Prozac. But it isn't like diabetes. There are lots of ways to shake it.
Gender reassignment is a body mod. I think, have always thought, that people should be able to do anything they want with their bodies. Whether I should pay for what other people want to do with their bodies -- either through my taxes or by accepting that person and their desire for expensive surgery into my risk pool, thereby boosting the likelihood that my own insurance rates are going to go up -- is another matter altogether.