Harvard University - New Policy Covers Transgender Health

[peggygee]

At Harvard’s behest, Blue Cross Blue Shield modified their University-specific policy on transgender services. Employee coverage went into effect on Jan. 1, and student coverage will begin on Aug. 1, 2010.

Blue Cross developed a policy outlining generic medical coverage criteria for both top and bottom surgeries. However, Harvard has decided to remove the exclusion only for top surgeries—that is, breast augmentation and mastectomies—for now, as the possibility of covering genital surgeries is still being investigated.

“One concern they have is with the lack of qualified local providers,” says Noah E. Lewis, staff attorney for the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund and a 2005 graduate of Harvard Law School. “Which, of course, is the result of insurance exclusions in the first place.”

Prior to the modification, Harvard subscribed to a standard plan from Blue Cross that specifically excluded “services and supplies that are related to sex change surgery or to the reversal of a sex change.”

According to Lewis, the UHS exclusion forced transgender people to pay the same insurance premiums as other members of the Harvard community, without receiving equal benefits in return.

“The exclusion for transgender services stuck out like a sore thumb,” he says. “If transgender health care were not explicitly singled out for exclusion, these services would be covered, as would any other medically necessary drug or surgery.”

http://www.thecrimson.com/article/20...cal-insurance/

http://theipowa.org/?q=content/harva...sgender-health

[MrF]

Thanks for trying to educate us and for not giving up on us Horndogs here in Pornland.

I wonder if the insurance will ever pay for genital surgery, as it's expensive and may not be considered necessary. Gall bladder surgery is necessary but sexual reassignment is not (?). Well, perhaps some people think it is.

At least the fact that they are willing to consider the SRS and to treat the special needs of TG is a good sign. I think that, previously, being TG was considered a mental maladjustment. That seems to be changing, at least among intellectuals (Harvard) who will hopefully lead on this issue.

BTW, the links didn't work for me.

[TurboMan]

thanks for trying to educate us and for not giving up on us horndogs here in pornland.

I wonder if the insurance will ever pay for genital surgery, as it's expensive and may not be considered necessary. Gall bladder surgery is necessary but sexual reassignment is not (?). Well, perhaps some people think it is.

At least the fact that they are willing to consider the srs and to treat the special needs of tg is a good sign. I think that, previously, being tg was considered a mental maladjustment. That seems to be changing, at least among intellectuals (harvard) who will hopefully lead on this issue.

Btw, the links didn't work for me.

didn't work for me either.

[anonymoussonny]

Links are dead...

[MrF]

Links are dead...

If you go to her web site (http://theipowa.org) and use their search to look for "Harvard" you'll find her link.

But when I went to Harvard's paper (http://www.thecrimson.com) and searched for "insurance" or "transgender", etc, I could not find it -- though I did find some other interesting stuff.

Hmm ... Must be those 3 dots ... from a faulty cut/paste.

[peggygee]

If you go to her web site (http://theipowa.org) and use their search to look for "Harvard" you'll find her link.

But when I went to Harvard's paper (http://www.thecrimson.com) and searched for "insurance" or "transgender", etc, I could not find it -- though I did find some other interesting stuff.

Hmm ... Must be those 3 dots ... from a faulty cut/paste.

Thanks everyone for taking the time to read the post, and I apologize for the broken links.

Harvard joins the growing ranks of colleges and Universities that provide trans specific health care to it's students and or employess.

Institutions such as Emerson College; Emory University; Harvard University; New York University; Stanford; the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Davis; the University of California, Irvine; the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, Riverside; the University of California, San Diego; the University of California, San Francisco; the University of California, Santa Barbara; the University of California, Santa Cruz; the University of Michigan; and the University of Washington.

Some colleges and universities cover just hormones under student health coverage: American University; Bridgewater State College; Cornell University; Harvard University; Ithaca College; the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; New York University; Ohio State University; Oregon State University; Penn State University; Princeton University; Stanford University; Suffolk University; the University of Oregon; the University of Vermont; the University of Wisconsin, Madison; and Yale University. For specific information on the coverage provided, see http://www.uclgbtia.org/transhealth.html.

And I can't wait for the day when we see the HBCUs on this list.

I believe that the recent IRS ruling that gender reassignment surgery was eligible for tax deductions, and that firms like financial giant Goldman Sachs and others would cover GRS, and a more empathetic social climate have propelled Harvard and others to this decision.


http://www.thecrimson.com/article/20...cal-insurance/

http://theipowa.org/?q=content/irs-s...ge-deduction-0

http://theipowa.org/?q=content/glad-...ent-deductions

http://theipowa.org/?q=content/goldman-sachs-covers-grs

[anonymoussonny]

Thanks for the follow-up! I appreciate the sincerity of your posts.

[peggygee]

Thanks for the follow-up! I appreciate the sincerity of your posts.

You're most welcome, always trying to bring "the news, that we can use."