Reported American Medical Association call for health insurance coverage of GID

[Danya (imported)]

Very few health care (insurance) plans cover costs of medical treatment related to diagnosed Gender Identity Disorder. Treatment can include some or all of the following: hormones, mental health therapy and surgery. This news report indicates that the AMA now supports such coverage.

June 17, 2008 – Report from the National Center for Gender Equality - http://www.nctequality.org

NCTE Applauds the AMA Call for "Removal of Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients"

The American Medical Association (AMA) passed a resolution yesterday calling for "public and private health insurance coverage for treatment of gender identity disorder as recommended by the patient's physician." The declaration, known as Resolution 122, "Removing Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients," was passed by the House of Delegates - AMA's primary decision-making body - at its annual conference in Chicago.

Resolution 122 affirms the effectiveness of medical treatment for transsexuals and the right to appropriate treatment. It also names as discriminatory the categorical denial of health insurance coverage for psychotherapy, hormonal and surgical treatments for transgender patients, and reiterates the AMA's opposition to discrimination based on gender identity. The full text of the resolution is below.

"America's physicians are saying that transgender people, like all others, deserve competent medical care based on what individual doctors and their patients determine is healthiest for each person," noted Mara Keisling, Executive Director of the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE). "Doctors and patients, not insurance companies, should be making those choices. We are so glad that the AMA has taken a leadership role against the rampant discrimination that transgender people have faced for so many years in receiving appropriate medical care and equitable insurance coverage,"

Health insurance coverage has been made into prominent national issue recently thanks in part to a three year campaign by the AMA. NCTE has prioritized ending health insurance discrimination against transgender people.

RESOLUTION 122

Subject: Removing Financial Barriers to Care for Transgender Patients

Whereas, Our American Medical Association opposes discrimination on the basis of gender identity; and

Whereas, Gender Identity Disorder (GID) is a serious medical condition recognized as such in both the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th Edition (DSM-IV) and the International Classification of Diseases (10th Revision); and is characterized in the DSM-IV as a persistent discomfort with one's assigned sex and with one's primary and secondary sex characteristics, which causes intense emotional pain and suffering; and

Whereas, GID, if left untreated, can result in clinically significant psychological distress, dysfunction, debilitating depression and, for some people without access to appropriate medical care and treatment, suicidality and death; and

Whereas, The World Profession for Transgender Health, Inc. (WPATH) is the leading international, interdisciplinary professional organization devoted to the understanding and treatment of gender identity disorders, and has established internationally accepted Standards of Care for providing medical treatment of people with GID, including mental health care, hormone therapy, and sex reassignment surgery, which are designed to promote the health and welfare of persons with GID and are recognized within the medical community to be the standard of care for treating people with GID; and

Whereas, An established body of medical research demonstrates the effectiveness and medical necessity of mental health care, hormone therapy, and sex reassignment surgery as forms of therapeutic treatment for many people diagnosed with GID; and

Whereas, Health experts in GID, including WPATH, have rejected the myth that such treatments are "cosmetic" or "experimental" and have recognized that these treatments can provide safe and effective treatment for a serious health condition; and

Whereas, Physicians treating persons with GID must be able to provide the correct treatment necessary for a patient in order to achieve genuine and lasting comfort with his or her gender, based on the person's individual needs and medical history; and

Whereas, Our AMA opposes limitations placed on patient care by third-party payers when such care is based upon sound scientific evidence and sound medical opinion; and

Whereas, Many health insurance plans categorically exclude coverage of mental health, medical, and surgical treatments for GID, even though many of these same treatments, such as psychotherapy, hormone therapy, breast augmentation or removal, hysterectomy, oophorectomy, orchiectomy, and salpingectomy, are often covered for other medical conditions; and

Whereas, The denial of these otherwise covered benefits for patients suffering from GID represents discrimination based solely on a patient's gender identity; and

Whereas, Delaying treatment for GID can cause and/or aggravate additional serious and expensive health problems, such as stress-related physical illnesses, depression, and substance abuse problems, which further endanger patients' health and strain the health care system; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association support public and private health insurance coverage for treatment of gender identity disorder as recommended by the patient's physician. (New HOD Policy).

[curious_guy (imported)]

Very few health care (insurance) plans cover costs of medical treatment related to diagnosed Gender Identity Disorder. Treatment can include some or all of the following: hormones, mental health therapy and surgery. This news report indicates that the AMA now supports such coverage.

I may be cynical but I suspect the main (or only) reason for this is that it would mean more MONEY for MDs.

[mrt (imported)]

I think simply understanding that there is a "medical" need and that G.I.D. does not stand for GLAD I'M DIFFERENT is the important step to insure this is covered like any other medical problem ought to be.

[Danya (imported)]

I think simply understanding that there is a "medical" need and that G.I.D. does not stand for GLAD I'M DIFFERENT is the important step to insure this is covered like any other medical problem ought to be.

MrT,

I knew I could count on you to come up with "Glad I'm Different" as an alternate definition for G.I.D! I love it

You are correct, though, in that Gender Identity Disorder should be treated as a medical problem. This doesn't apply solely to transsexuals either (MtF or FtM) but to all kinds of G.I.D. types. Some folks with G.I.D. seek nothing more than hormonal treatment. Others want some type of surgery so they can feel at peace with who they are. Yet others seek only counseling to better incorporate their gender identity into their lives and feel better adjusted.

-Danya