Duke Ins. Plan cover Sexual Reassignment Surgery

[Paslode]

The Blue Devils or future He-She Devils

Sexual reassignment surgery for transgendered students will be covered in students’ health care plans, effective this Fall.

Administrators signed a new contract with Duke’s health insurance provider, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina, that will include up to $50,000 to cover sexual reassignment surgery, Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek confirmed. With this new coverage, she said, all vital aspects of transgender health care—counseling, hormone therapy, and surgery—are now included in students’ plans.

“The addition of sexual reassignment surgery with a $50,000 cap makes Duke’s student health care plan one of the most, if not the most, transgender-inclusive plans in the country,” said junior Sunny Frothingham, the incoming outreach chair for Blue Devils United. “This is a huge step forward for Duke.”

Each year, the Student Health Advisory Committee examines the Duke Student Medical Insurance Plan and reviews how students use the plan to determine if changes need to be made to the benefits provided to students, Wasiolek said.

She added that this is the last step in providing complete coverage to Duke’s transgender community.

“For the past several years, we have considered benefits for transgendered students, looking first at counseling and hormone therapy benefits, then at ‘top’ surgery benefits and most recently at ‘bottom’ surgery benefits,” Wasiolek said.

The additional coverage will have a “minimal” impact on cost to students, Wasiolek said. The coverage will cause a 0.3 percent increase to student costs.

Overall, student health care premiums will increase by a total of 8 percent next year, Wasiolek said.

“The plan premium is increasing 8 percent next year, with 4 percent of that increase resulting from taxes associated with the Affordable Care Act,” she said. “The remaining 4 percent is attributed to health care cost trend and benefit enhancements.”

Wasiolek said the $50,000 cap was set after consulting with the standards of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina.

“Our cap is competitive with or higher than our peer institutions,” said junior Jacob Tobia, president of BDU. “This is really important symbolically for the Duke community. I hope that this will help us remain really competitive as an institution when recruiting students, because I know that in the past we have had transgendered students that have been extremely successful at Duke, including merit scholars.”

Tobia added that this inclusion is one step to further ensure that students spanning the LGBT community feel welcome at Duke.

The updated plan is in line with a Duke Student Government resolution passed in March. The legislation urged the administration to comply with the standards for transgender health as recommended by the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association and World Professional Association for Transgender Health, all of which have declared that comprehensive health care for transgendered individuals must include mental health care, hormone therapy and sexual reassignment surgery.

“I am proud of our students for bringing forward this issue and of Duke for making an immediate change to our program,” said Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta.

Insuring job security for future generations of graduates with degrees health care, hormone therapy and specialists in sexual reassignment surgery.

http://www.dukechronicle.com/article...x-reassignment

[Richard]

WHOGAS. If you don't agree with the plan, look for another. Meh.

Richard

[Paslode]

Originally Posted by Richard

WHOGAS. If you don't agree with the plan, look for another. Meh.

Richard

That is for the time being a possibility, but considering transgender health care is becoming a individuals right it will permeate well beyond the education system.

In time in order to fair and equal, all plans will cover parts replacement.

[afchic]

Originally Posted by Paslode

That is for the time being a possibility, but considering transgender health care is becoming a individuals right it will permeate well beyond the education system.

In time in order to fair and equal, all plans will cover parts replacement.

I bet you have a health care plan that covers the things you want covered: knee replacements, you may need a lung or a liver or a heart, etc.

Why do you have a problen.with someone else doing the same, regardless of the fact you may not agree with the pieces parts that need to be replaced.

I thought we were a society based on "equal rights for all" based on the vision of the pursuit of Life and Liberty. Or shoukd we now say "only if we agree with ways in which someone.lives their life". The fact that you accuse liberals of infringing on YOUR rights, but have no problem infringing on someone else's because you disagree with it is the height of hypocracy.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by afchic

I...Why do you have a problen.with someone else doing the same, regardless of the fact you may not agree with the pieces parts that need to be replaced..............

Because group plans cover a wide range of things most folks don't need or want.

A check the box type of health insurance similar to car insurance would greatly reduce the cost for most folks.

Kinda' changes the reason some folks pick a college. "I picked this one so I could have a sex change during summer break."

[miclo18d]

Originally Posted by afchic

I thought we were a society based on "equal rights for all" based on the vision of the pursuit of Life and Liberty.

You thought but did you read and/or study what you are quoting here?

If you are referring to the Declaration of Independence, it reads: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness"

It states that humans were created with equal ability to make something of themselves, not equal outcomes.

It doesn't guarantee happiness just the pursuit of it.

[afchic]

Originally Posted by Pete

Because group plans cover a wide range of things most folks don't need or want.

A check the box type of health insurance similar to car insurance would greatly reduce the cost for most folks.

Kinda' changes the reason some folks pick a college. "I picked this one so I could have a sex change during summer break."

By that rationale, I have pretty good DNA, and have never smoked. Odds are I will never need a lung transplant. Why shoukd I pay for one for someone else?

I do agree with your point that I wish there was a checklist type plan out there.

[Sacamuelas]

Fact:
Insurance coverage is not free, hell the government kind isn't and they can print their own $.

Fact:
THe more medically unnecessary treatments that are covered, the more ALL participants will be forced to pay in premiums to cover the expense.

Fact:
Our private insurance industry AND government insurance programs have always excluded numerous "elective", "cosmetic", or "Medically unnecessary" procedures.

Fact:
INDIVIDUALS have the freedom to make the "choice" to have such procedures performed at any time of their choosing. They simply pay for them.


Knee replacements being used as a comparative example is ludicrous. Keeping a patient from requiring the continous use of high dose narcotics for pain management, preventing long term hepatic/GI issues with high dose NSAIDS, continuous need for physical therapy, and correcting lack of function/mobility consequences that can make it difficult to maintain employment are medically necessary.

[Stargazer]

Missed Sacamuelas above post while writing mine. Sacamuelas stated it best.

[mugwump]

I don't see this as elective. Something has to be done...the suicide rate among the transgendered is 41%. I believe that gender identity and sexual orientation are hard-wired, genetically and/or epigenetically.

[Stargazer]

Originally Posted by mugwump

I don't see this as elective. Something has to be done...the suicide rate among the transgendered is 41%. I believe that gender identity and sexual orientation are hard-wired, genetically and/or epigenetically.

I have not read any studies that support transgender linked to genetics and/or epigenetics. I would be interested if you can point me in that direction.

Mugwump -- I found a couple that I will read. Interesting. When I worked with Roche Applied Sciences I kept up a little more then I do now. Having said that, if sexual reassignment becomes standard, the same argument can be made for elective procedures noted bySacamuelas.

[JimP]

Just for thought: If I go around claiming I'm Napolean, they'd lock me up and toss the key. But, if I go around claiming I'm Cher, there's a host of doctors and insurance companies lining up to conduct the "lopadickoffame"; or, converserly, the "addadicktome" - (dependent upon which generation of Bono were discussing).

What if MY happiness and "identity" is tied to me being Napolean? Must you then pay for my tri-cornered hat?

[Fingon]

Originally Posted by Stargazer

I have not read any studies that support transgender linked to genetics and/or epigenetics. I would be interested if you can point me in that direction.

You haven't found any because it isn't linked to genetics or epi-genetics. Its a matter of embryological development. Transgender is pretty much an intersex disorder limited to the brain. Intersex disorders arise from hormonal imbalances in-utero as a result of inadequate production or immune responses to the hormones, screwing with the developmental process. Where transgender comes in would be a matter of timing. When the brain is being developed beyond the cerebellum, the levels of androgen that are required to develop a male fetus into a proper male infant, with all its male attributes, are not adequate and the brain will not be fully masculine. With a female it would be the presence of too much androgen at that particular stage of development. I imagine homosexuality will one day be seen as transgender-lite and transgender will fall under the umbrella of intersex disorders.

I don't know if you're going to find much in published journals and studies on my explanation other than maybe an opinion, but the speculation is the most sound since it does base itself on established intersex disorder findings.

[Stargazer]

Originally Posted by Fingon

You haven't found any because it isn't linked to genetics or epi-genetics.

I have found some scholarly publications and studies through a simple google search. However, I have not had an opportunity to read.

[BKKMAN]

Originally Posted by mugwump

I don't see this as elective. Something has to be done...the suicide rate among the transgendered is 41%. I believe that gender identity and sexual orientation are hard-wired, genetically and/or epigenetically.

If you are going to mindlessly throw out statistics, you might want to get it correct.

A “staggering” 41 percent of the more than 6,400 respondents said they had attempted suicide, compared to a rate of 1.6 percent for the general population, according to the survey (PDF) by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality.

ABA Journal Article



Additionally, I take the statistics of this survey with a grain of salt, considering the nexus of the survey [National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and the National Center for Transgender Equality] and the biases of the researchers involved with an axe to grind...YMMV...



The mission statements for both organizations:

The National Center for Transgender Equality is a national social justice organization devoted to ending discrimination and violence against transgender people through education and advocacy on national issues of importance to transgender people. By empowering transgender people and our allies to educate and influence policymakers and others, NCTE facilitates a strong and clear voice for transgender equality in our nation’s capital and around the country.

The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the grassroots power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. We do this by training activists, equipping state and local organizations with the skills needed to organize broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all.

The entire survey and executive summary are available through the article in the link posted above...

ETA: The one generic question on the test regarding suicide:

54. Have you ever attempted suicide? �� Yes �� No

And the explanation for its inclusion:

Some of the most devastating and most important results from the survey came from this question, which was almost not included because we knew we could not delve deeply enough into the topic and because it made the institutional review process more difficult because the question conceivably could trigger or retrigger thoughts of suicide among respondents. Thus, we included, at the beginning of the survey, a suicide resource, The Trevor Project, which agreed to serve both adult and youth callers. And, in fact, we did receive two calls from respondents who were distressed from filling out the survey and were able to appropriately refer them; we are not sure how many may have called The Trevor Project.

We are incredibly grateful that we included this question. We recommend that future researchers carefully consider how to construct a more complex set of questions about suicidality by looking at federal and other surveys. We recommend that future questions differentiate between attempts at different stages of a respondent’s life. Additionally future studies might differentiate between attempts in the last year as opposed to over a person’s life span to compare to the many studies that only ask about the last year. Furthermore, it would be helpful to ask about ideation and connection with depressive episodes or other mental health conditions.

The question itself is quite generic and there are no follow-on questions or categories to differentiate either the 'level' of suicide attempt or the reason for attempting it (transgender bullying, cat died, tired of living in Mom's basement, etc.)