Thread: Should gender reassignment surgery be covered by health insurance providers?

Nasty said So, was just flipping through and figured I'd put my two cents in as well. Healthcare providers will cover surgeries that SAVE them money in the long run. So, we'll take a friend of mine going in for bariatric surgery. In this case the insurance company is only covering 50 of the costs on a 20,000 surgery, although he's well over grossly obese and it will save them the possibility of hundreds of thousands of dollars in the long run should he develop type 2 diabetes, heart disease and a myriad of other conditions because of his obesity. And that's literally how they put it to him. And that's with tons of research going into the dangers of obesity. So, when looking at it from that viewpoint, why would an insurance company want to cover the costs of a transgender operation? I can't think of any reason it would want to. In the long run, the person getting the operation is going to cost the insurance company way more if the operation is performed considering they cover the hormone therapy both before and after the operation and while I haven't done any research into what sort of complications can erupt after turning genitals intended to be one thing into another, it can't be 100 foolproof can it? After all, at the very least we have to account for the fact that the people doing the operation are human. And, really, if we're arguing that it should be covered because of some chemical imbalance, don't you think the insurance company would opt for chemical therapy to treat the issue? Thus balancing those chemicals so the person in question identifies more readily with their birth gender. Well, my two cents, take it for what they're worth. Click to expand... I think the chemical thing could tie with Quin's theory. A lot of people, while becoming more open to mental disorders and anything going on with the mind and brain, are also not helping because a lot of people think you should embrace your mental illness. I got into an argument with a friend a few days ago because it was suggested that she get medication for her depression. She said medication is unnatural and will give her fake emotions and she isn't going to deny what is naturally her. Just because there is nothing apparently altering your feelings or your thoughts doesn't mean it's naturally you. But a lot of people nowdays have a victim complex and want to think there is nothing to fix, they're just fucked up or different. And I'm not saying that just because something is different that it needs to be changed. But for instance, Autism. Autism is a disorder but I also feel like it should simply be treated like a different personality type or a different way the mind works. Perhaps this is the way some transgendered people feel. There's obviously a chance that there is something not yet discovered that is making them feel and think this way, but they don't want to feel like there is a possibility that there is simply something off in their brain. I suppose it could also be like offering some miracle treatment for someone who's Autistic. They've been this way their entire life. You'd rid them of certain limitations and burdens but you would also essentially be changing who they are as a person. I think many Autistic people would rather they change in a way that they conform and blend into society physically while still being the way they've always been than to change the way their mind works. Same goes for transgendered people. I think they'd rather blend in by physically looking like the gender they feel they mentally are than for their mind to suddenly start leaning toward their biological gender.