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Removing Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients

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  • AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION HOUSE OF DELEGATES
    Resolution: 122
    (A-08)
    Introduced by: Resident and Fellow Section, Massachusettes Medical Society, California
    Medical Association, Medical Society of the State of New York
    Subject: Removing Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients

     

    http://www.gires.org.uk/assets/Medpro-Assets/AMA122.pdf

     

     

     

    Cristine Jennifer Shye.  B/L.  B/Acc
      June 3, 2012 3:51 PM BST
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  • Perhaps the moderators of this forum will investigate the link and post answers.     I can't be expected to do it all for you lol.

    Cristine Jennifer Shye.  B/L.  B/Acc
      June 3, 2012 3:54 PM BST
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  • I think it would be great if they would be able to get them to do that
      June 10, 2012 11:21 PM BST
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  • Hi Everyone,
    In looking at the AMA Resolution 122, the document represents a big step for medical care for the transgendered. However, here in the U.S. , unless we can convince the Insurance companies , who are the primary funding source for most US Citizens, it will fall on deaf ears. I'm doing some checking with an expert in the field and will post my results in the next few days.

    Until then, remember, the IRS (our tax authority in the US) has ruled that expenses associated with transition treatment are deducable on your income taxes. This is not the same as funded treatment, as your transition is self funded, significantly limiting access to critically needed treatment.

    Michelle Lynn
      June 22, 2012 3:16 PM BST
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  • Thanks to Janice Raymond the transphobic lesbian.
      June 23, 2012 6:39 PM BST
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  • As long as we live in a world ran by corporate greed, lifestyles will always be diffcult, especially if this is yours.

      February 14, 2013 9:58 PM GMT
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  • Insurance companies (MOST) because of the "high cost" of being a TG they will NOT pay for it there can be ALL the resolutions in the world on the subject but until someone in the higher up's in the insurance companies see it well most of us will NEVER be able to afford to transition mine won't even cover mental health because I had ADD the consider it a "preexisting condition so I can't seek mental health ANYTHING! Let alone this :(
      February 22, 2013 1:02 AM GMT
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  • Speaking of ways to pay for transition if you are a veteran and have their insurance your hormones are free. I'm a veteran and they are paying for my hormone therapy. Also fundraisers are a way to go. I go to college and a group is helping me to set up a fundraiser to raise money for my surgery.

      May 9, 2013 8:52 PM BST
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  • As far as I know, having read it somewhere and already posted in this forum, ongoing medical, surgery, etc, is tax deductable.

    Cristine Jennifer Shye.  B/L.  B/Acc
      May 9, 2013 9:19 PM BST
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  • I've used my medical insurance for FFS, BA, and SRS, as well as therapy and electrolysis.  The insurance company was paid by my employer (when I was working) to provide this benefit, so it is not exclusively in the realm of the insurance company to just stand up and pay.  An employer must buy the benefit for employees from the insurance company.   I've heard of several companies that use the same medical insurance company, but benefits to employees of these companies differ.  Social Security and othe federal insurance do not cover gender dysphoria costs.

     

    My insurance benefit covered costs at their standard surgical amounts after deductibles and other things.  In other words, treatment for gender dysphoria was handled by my insurance company the same as any other medical condition.  I have several other friends using different insurance companies that received similar treatment.

     

    As far as a deduction on your federal tax return, I claimed the amount that I paid beyond what the insurance company paid.  The IRS has announced its acquiescence in O'Donnabhain (google the name), 134 TC No 4, CCH Dec 58,122 where the tax court found that expenses for gender identity disorder surgery (emphasis here on surgery for this deduction) were deductible under Code Sec 213.  My comment here, for the surgery, have your letters stating that FFS, BA, or SRS are necessary for your gender dysphoria treatment before you have any of these surgeries.

     

    I hope this helps.

      May 10, 2013 12:12 AM BST
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  • Another problem are companies that do the surgeries. When i was looking for a place to do my top surgery I found that many companies will not take insurance. Those that did take insurance required that you pay in full before the surgery then would reemburse you if you if your insurance did pay for it. For many who may not know there is a site that has a list of surgens and which surgeries they will do. In addition you can see what their work looks like. Some people will also post comments about their expeiance with the doctor. This site is transbucket.com.

      May 10, 2013 4:56 PM BST
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  • I like to put myself into the other guys position for something like this.  If I were a surgeon who did breast augmentation (or FFS or SRS), and I performed the surgery without being paid upfront, what recourse would I have if the patient could not or would not pay.  Keep in mind that except for special cases, cosmetic surgery is not covered by insurance.  For this reason, cosmetic surgeons do not have a staff to handle medical claims.  It is only recently that some medical policies added GID support (surgeries), and also the reason insurance companies that do provide the benefit require a letter from a therapist or medical doctor stating the patient is TS before authorizing the surgery.

     

    I myself have worked with a number of surgeons for both cconsultations and surgeries.  I have found that asking questions is the best way to find out why they do things the way they do and how they are willing to help.  In each case the surgeon's staff was willing to assist me in filing claims for maximum benefit.

     

    I am not making excuses for surgeons, only stating the facts.  

      May 10, 2013 6:32 PM BST
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  • Then why do they make payment plans and don't make people pay upfront for other surgeries? I think if they are willing to make those kinds of exceptions for any type of surgery it should be the same as all. For reprections they can send claims to collections, There are ways that they can get their money. IDK maybe I'm wrong, but they do this for other medical proceedures and I feel TS surgeries should be treated the same.

      May 11, 2013 12:12 AM BST
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  • It is up to the individual doctor how they will handle payment.  Acceptance of a medical insurance plan and/or payment for service is decided by the individual doctor, not by law or dictate.  Again, it is best to speak with individual doctors to see how they are willing to help.  And yes, many doctors are willing to help.

     

    When thinking of using borrowed money for transition, a parallel that comes to my mind is borrowing for education.  As the education is completed, a student can rack up a huge amount of debt.  And after graduation, whether or not there are job prospects, the students life is tied to the debt.  How many young men and women that you know fall into this category.  Substitute transition for education here and the same is true.  Transition tied to an extended period of indebtedness, is not so appealing, especially when job prospects are significantly reduced as a result of the transition.  A successful transition can be just as expensive as a college diploma even with insurance.  

    I suspect my statements are not what you want to hear.  Sorry about that, I'm just trying to be realistic.    

      May 11, 2013 1:51 AM BST
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  • Robin, you have "hit the nail on the head" as far as comparing education costs and transitioning costs. Perhaps people should realise that "someone" has to pay for things we want. If you can't afford that "extra degree" from school..then perhaps the lesser degree should be considered. Many people do not get SRS right away (or ever) yet manage to live a full life

    <p>Doanna Highland</p>
      May 11, 2013 7:19 PM BST
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  • Thanks to emperical research done in the last 3-4 years on sites like this one, by researchers like Laura Amato, some including results from over 1 million respondents, there has been a dramatic shift in policy.

     

    In 2012, the American Psychology Association decreed that is UNETHICAL to try and convince a transsexual to stay in their birth gender.

     

    In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association made a similar decree.

     

    The AMA is considering a similar decree.

     

    Therapy can often be handled by calling the disease "Depression" and then treating for that - give the therapy.

    Hormones like spiro can be issued to treat conditions such as enlarged prostate and heart problems.

    Others like Estro still require an AMA declaration similar to the one in the link.

     

    I was not clear if this had already been adopted, or was under consideration?

     

     

    It wasn't that long ago that a doctor could lose their license and/or hospital priviledges for performing SRS, or even prescribing female hormones to a man.

     

    When I was a kid (1960), and I told my mother I wanted to be a girl, her therapist told me the "Cure" was electroshock and if that didn't work, a lobotomy.  When I got too upset and told her I wanted to be a girl, she would say "do you want them to turn you into a zombie?".

     

     

     

      August 10, 2013 7:44 AM BST
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  • 95

    This just in from Friday, June 20:

     

    http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/06/20/state-cover-gender-reassignment-surgery-and-hormone-treatment-for-transgender-patients/a9OPrvqdUPmRoiAQugVwEO/story.html

     

    Of course, there is no way of knowing just when all of this will actuallt take effect. For the state subsidized insurance, probably pretty soon. But for BCBS, Harvard, Tufts, and all other health insurance HMO's etc, I think they micht put up a bit of a fight on this one...

      June 22, 2014 3:51 AM BST
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  • Amy Carter said:

    As long as we live in a world ran by corporate greed, lifestyles will always be diffcult, especially if this is yours.

    There is no such thing as "corporate greed."  A corporation is an abstract entity.  When you pierce the corporate veil, you find raw human greed.

    As to "lifestyles," yes, the lifestyle of prostitution and human trafficking will always be difficult as long as there is law enforcement.

    The aforementioned "lifestyle" has nothing to do with human gender identity or the situation of a human's internal or external sexual organs or secondary sex characteristics....

    This post was edited by Honey Bee 0x63 at December 10, 2016 9:22 PM GMT
      December 10, 2016 9:20 PM GMT
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