There was a great local article in the newspaper this week about NH transsexual women lobbying for laws requiring insurance companies to help cover cost associated with transitioning. What most people assume is that this is a choice and not a necessary medical treatment. Because of this mentality most transgendered people will face high monetary cost associated with their treatments.
What sucks about the whole thing is that the medical community is now starting to study and document that this condition is brought on by changes in fetal development and not a mental disorder as once believed. While most insurance companies with allow you to get mental health help the treatment ceases to be their responsibility from that point on. It would make it appear as though you could simply be cured by getting therapy!!
While some people might argue that it would cause health care to rise and it isn’t a necessary process I can honestly say without the "process" most transsexuals are sentence to a life of despair and possibly death. This in itself coupled with the theories that it is a prenatal condition should force insurance companies to take better care of its clients and not be able to discriminate based on things that aren’t fully understood.
I find it disgusting that this goes on considering the amount of money I’ve dumped into my insurance over the years without really needing it, except on a few major occasions. The costs associated with treatment are extraordinary to begin with. Add in possible employment discrimination and it makes it much harder for the Avg TS to be able to take care of themselves, let alone use the insurance.
Therapy, Hormone treatment, Electrolysis, Surgery, Legal Changes all add up to tens of thousands of dollars and unless you either have a nest egg to fall on already or the means to make a decent long term salary, then it really becomes almost impossible to become right with ones self.
Thankfully there are ways to get some help if you don’t have the financial means, but that help can be tough to get to and it doesn’t offset everything. Hopefully in the future our lawmakers will begin to realize that we all deserve equal treatment, as the money we contribute isn’t any less valuable than any other group of people…
If you want to read the article it can be located here..
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070320/NEWS02/203200357/-1/business
What’s awesome for me is Dr Madden is my Dr. It’s nice to see her fighting to improve things..
No comments:
Post a Comment