By Alexandra Brodsky • @azbrodsky • 12 years ago

Quick Hit: California bans insurance discrimination against trans* patients

As of yesterday, insurance companies in California can no longer discriminate against trans* patients, an essential step forward in light of the tremendous health disparities between trans* and cis people in the U.S. The Transgender Law Center reports:

California’s Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) has issued guidance clarifying the obligations of California’s health plans under the Insurance Gender Nondiscrimination Act (see below)  In a groundbreaking directive to health plans, the DMHC confirmed that California’s Insurance Non-Discrimination Act of 2006, authored by former Assemblymember Paul Koretz, guarantees all people the right to access coverage for medically necessary care regardless of their gender identity or gender expression. The directive also provides that patients who are denied coverage can appeal the decision for review by the Department.

…The DMHC directive applies to HMOs and PPOs regulated by the Department of Managed Health Care. In 2012, the Department of Insurance issued non-discrimination regulations with similar protections for health insurance regulated by the Department of Insurance. Combined, this means that all California health plans and insurers cannot arbitrarily deny medically necessary services provided to other policy holders or members simply because the patient is transgender.

While Assembly Speaker John A. Pérez stressed that proper implementation of the Insurance Non-Discrimination Act is “a simple matter of fairness and equality,” the Executive Director of the Transgender Law Center stressed that this directive isn’t just about abstract justice: the stakes are literally life and death.

“This one letter will save lives,” said Masen Davis, Executive Director of Transgender Law Center. “For years, transgender Californians have been denied coverage of basic care merely because of who we are. Discriminatory insurance exclusions put transgender people and our families at risk for health problems and financial hardship. Now we can finally get the care we need.”

…A 2008 study conducted by Transgender Law Center found that an alarmingly high rate of transgender patients were denied coverage for essential health care. 15% were outright denied gender-specific care such as pap-smears or prostate exams just because they were transgender.

Which state will step up next? You can read the TLC’s full statement here.

Washington, DC

Alexandra Brodsky was a senior editor at Feministing.com. During her four years at the site, she wrote about gender violence, reproductive justice, and education equity and ran the site's book review column. She is now a Skadden Fellow at the National Women's Law Center and also serves as the Board Chair of Know Your IX, a national student-led movement to end gender violence, which she co-founded and previously co-directed. Alexandra has written for publications including the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Guardian, and the Nation, and she is the co-editor of The Feminist Utopia Project: 57 Visions of a Wildly Better Future. She has spoken about violence against women and reproductive justice at campuses across the country and on MSNBC, ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, FOX, ESPN, and NPR.

Alexandra Brodsky was a senior editor at Feministing.com.

Read more about Alexandra

Join the Conversation

00-holding-save-the-aca
By Sejal Singh • @Sej_Singh • 7 years ago

It’s Do or Die Time on Trumpcare – Literally

The Senate will vote to strip health care from millions in about 48 hours. This is not a drill.

Yesterday, Senate Republicans voted to proceed to debate on their taxcuts-for-billionaires “healthcare” bill. Does that mean they’ll release a bill on which to have public hearings and town halls? Nope. In Senate parliamentary language, that means they’ve started the process to vote on the bill this week.

What are they voting on, you ask? TBD, because  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell still hasn’t told anyone what is in bill. Will pregnancy be a pre-existing condition again

The Senate will vote to strip health care from millions in about 48 hours. This is not a drill.

Yesterday, Senate Republicans voted to proceed to debate on their Read More

21st5
By Sejal Singh • @Sej_Singh • 7 years ago

Here’s How Many People Could Lose Healthcare To Give Billionaires a Tax Break

According to a stunning estimate from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the GOP “health care bill” gives America’s 400 wealthiest households alone a $33 billion tax break – equivalent to the cost of Medicaid for 725,800 low-income Americans.

Yesterday, following protests across the country, Senate Republicans were forced to delay a vote on the GOP health care bill (also known as the “Better Care Reconciliation Act,” or BCRA). According to the nonpartisan number-crunchers at the Congressional Budget Office, 22 million people would lose healthcare coverage under the Senate GOP bill – a loss largely ...

According to a stunning estimate from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the GOP “health care bill” gives America’s 400 wealthiest households alone a $33 billion tax break – ...