Proposed H.H.S. Rule Would Require Private Insurance to Pay For Gender Transitioning

The Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule that would amend the Affordable Care Act to add an allowance for transition surgeries and hormone therapies.

QUICK FACTS:

• A new rule proposed by The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services would make substantial changes to the Affordable Care Act that requires funding for gender reassignment.
• The rule was proposed on Jan. 5 and adds “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” as protected classes and would force insurers to cover the cost of transition surgeries and hormone therapies.
• A rebuttal from the Family Research Council argues that those procedures are not only unnecessary but dangerous.
• FRC’s formal response to the proposal included the assertion that the safety of the procedures in question were unsupported by scientific evidence.

In a new report, the Department of Health and Human Services deemed it discriminatory for insurance plans offered through the ACA to exclude coverage of gender-affirming treatment for transgender people → https://t.co/tOqAvnQxrv

— Trans Empowerment Project (@trans_empowered) January 13, 2022

FAMILY RESEARCH CENTER’S STATEMENT:

• “Such procedures are not supported by evidence-based medicine, and if this rule were to go into effect, it would harm the very patients it purports to help,” Jennifer Bauwens, director of the Center for Family Studies at FRC, wrote in a formal comment regarding the proposed rule.
• “There is a lack of scientific evidence to support the claim that gender affirmation practices account for any sustained reduction in gender dysphoria,” she continued. “There is evidence that puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgical procedures can cause permanent physiological damage and cause psychological harm.
• “There is also a growing awareness of those who are unhappy with their gender affirmative care and have decided to de-transition. Further investigation is needed to understand this population’s experiences and those who did not fare well following these medically-based practices. Given the aforementioned reasons, at minimum, these practices should be put on hold until better evidence exists, but they should certainly not be encouraged through the current proposed rule.”

BACKGROUND:

• According to News Medical Life Science hundreds of transgender individuals regret changing their gender.
• The report states that there has been a movement by 19 and 20-year-olds who wish they hadn’t undergone surgery and that their dysphoria hasn’t been relieved with surgical treatment.