Sex change insurance coverage something Portland mayor would like for city employees

If you’re a Portland, Ore., city staff and are considering gender change surgery, Mayor Sam Adams is on your side, states Portland Online. According to Adams, it is only right that community health insurance cover the treatment. As early as June, Portland Community Council is anticipated to vote on the mayor’s proposal.

’Fair, common sense,’ Adams believes

Mayor Adams told The Oregonian newspaper that the transgender surgery bill amounts to “fair, common sense.” The previous year, the committee decided that gender change medical operation charges should not be covered in the Portland self-insurance fund, which would be overridden if the legislation makes it. The denial ended up taking place. This was because the city did not choose entirely to change community policy like this.

Adams estimated that transgender operation benefits wouldn’t cost that much to add. It would cost around $32,000 a year for them. There would be about a .08 percent increase in the self-insurance plan spending budget for the area.

Coverage covers ‘medically necessary’ things

In 2008, the American Medical Association has identified transgender health care as “medically important.” The AMA resolution needs gender identity disorder is treated. If a doctor prescribes it as a procedure, then it isn’t allowed to withhold coverage.

“As Mayor, it is important to me that we attract and retain the best and brightest employees to the City of Portland,” writes Adams in a press statement. “Covering basic, medically-necessary care is a matter of fairness, and it’s the right thing to do.”

Kaiser or self-insurance

Currently, the Community of Portland provides two health insurance choices to its employees: insurance through Kaiser or a self-insurance plan called CityCore. If Adams’ suggestion is approved, CityCore would cover the gender change medical operation, bringing the city’s plan in line with that of 22 percent of Fortune 100 Companies and many Oregon businesses that already cover such a medical operation.

Doing what San Francisco started

San Francisco became the first U.S. community that had transgender surgery benefits available in a health plan in 2001. Sex change operations and hormone treatments were accessible to community employees after a bill was passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and then-Mayor Willie Brown.

Male to female medical operation costs $37,000 and female to male cost $77,000 at that time. Fees were capped at $50,000 per person for life in the San Francisco ordinance while 15 percent if the surgeon is on the city health plan had to be paid.

View this video of Sam Adams at a Portland rally for same-sex marriage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BMPgHIrjKA

Information from

Basic Rights Oregon

basicrights.org/

OregonLive.com

blog.oregonlive.com/portlandcityhall/2011/05/mayor_sam_adams_to_push_sex-ch.html

Portland Online

portlandonline.com/mayor/?a=350579&c=49278

SF Gate

sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/02/16/MN202072.DTL