Obamacare now covers gender reassignment

Long article but I'll just c+p the most relevant parts.

Now, federal law prohibits health insurance companies from discriminating against transgender people, and it bars insurers from denying coverage based on pre-existing conditions. That makes it possible for more transgender people to purchase private plans. And in states that expanded their Medicaid programs, those with low incomes may get free coverage.

The federal anti-discrimination regulations have yet to be written, but California insurance regulators have said that companies must treat transgender patients the same as other patients. For example, if plans cover hormones for post-menopausal women, they must also cover them for transgender women. Medicare, the program for the elderly and disabled, lifted its ban on covering sex reassignment surgery earlier this year.

A few obstacles remain for transgender patients. Not many doctors specialize in transgender care. And while the law opens the door to insurance coverage, insurers can set conditions and don’t automatically approve payment.

BOOM. Pandora's box has been opened

Thoughts?

damn liberals!

does it cover Psychiatric help for these people too?

You can't get gender reassignment surgery without approval from a doctor first.

The surgery is part of the help.

I'm having trouble coming up with a response to this that doesn't make me sound like a douche, so I'll just say that I'm okay with other people getting medical procedures if it helps them physically, mentally, or emotionally. I haven't lived their lives or gone through their experiences so it's probably wrong for me to pass quick judgment on their decisions when it likely took loads if thoughtful consideration on their part to come to them.

yeah that will work.

Good on transgender people I guess

oh i'm sure this will go over well

Yeah probably. Would a transgender person go to a psychiatrist for this? No.

it's true.

i already made an appointment to have a vagina installed in my palm.

What about the women that wish to get their breast augmented or White guys with small prostates? This scheme wouldn't be fair if the coverage isn't applied universally.

If you can prove that a person's wellbeing depends on those things then I'm all for it.

Now just how much money does this take away from within the system that's reserved for people that actually need help? Like cancer patients and other diseases? Y'know actually life threatening issues.

From what I understand gender reassignment isn't exactly cheap.

I don't have enough information on the subject to formulate a well-educated opinion.

I like you, man. Bro + great avatar

That's the way it works in the UK.

so, just hormones, not like it's covering operations for a sex change, I don't have a problem with this, women basically get the same treatment during menopause, and women on the pill are basically getting hormone treatment and sometimes for a number of non-reproductive reasons

when you think about it legally, if someone is legally deemed a female there's no reason they can't get the same drugs females typically get

Good. Some of you can have your genitals realigned quite reflectively to your forehead.

The transgendered population is so small, and the cost of sex reassignment varies from $15,000 to about $30,000. While expensive, its basically nothing compared to things like Leukemia treatments. I highly doubt that this would have any significant impact on premiums, so theres likely no real justification for any kind of outrage.

But baby jesus died on the cross so that we can all point and laugh at trans people.

The problem with Obamacare isn't so much that it does things like this, it's that it will cost around 6 trillion dollars or more. That and it teaches people that they should rely on each other rather than the rugged self-reliance that this country was founded on.

If they could just cut down on the cost though I would be more okay with the situation as a whole, as is though it should be called the Unaffordable Care Act.

Can I now get wings grafted to my shoulders as part of Obamacare? I would really enjoy the ability to fly, it would definitely cut down on the amount of time I spend in traffic on my way to work.

Be honest, if humans could fly we would consider it exercise and never do it.

People helping each other ends up being cheaper for everybody. Americans pay more than anyone else in the world for their healthcare, and has one of the worst in the developed world.

Privatisation leads to higher costs. Do you really want to pay more for less just because of some phony sense of "self reliance"?

Now this is great news. Glad we're being treated more equally.