People who choose to go undergo extensive cosmetic surgery to change their gender are required to go through rigorous physiological e evaluations as well as long trial periods, but the most difficult challenge for many transsexuals is paying for the cost of surgery.
However, in the last several years—following San Francisco's model—some of the nation's largest employers are offering coverage for surgical procedures like gender-reassignment surgery, and other related health care costs.
The San Francisco Model
In 2001, San Francisco became the first large U.S. employer to offer extensive coverage for sex transition surgeries despite concerns that transgender people would flock to the city for work and bankrupt the insurance fund.
It turned out that coverage for transition surgeries and other gender-reassignment treatments—which could cost upward up $50,000—actually cost San Francisco very little because there wasn't a huge flood of claims.
The model of San Francisco led major employers such as General Motors, Eastman Kodak, IBM, Hallmark Cards, as well as the universities of California and Michigan to include sex transition-related coverage as part of the standard employee benefits.
Cosmetic Surgery or Life-Saving Surgery
However, many are questioning why an employer should cover the costs of surgeries that are essentially cosmetic or why taxpayers should “subsidize a spurious alternative lifestyle choice,” states a report by the San Francisco Human Rights Commission.
Others claim that sex transition surgeries can have a significant—if not life-saving impact—on transgender people.
“Ultimately, the understanding that this is a life-saving and fundamental service for people who need it really deals with all those questions,” said Andrew Wilson, a transgender activist who claims he was suicidal before transitioning. “When something saves life, we don't debate on whether we have political fallout for it. We just do it.”
Costs of Transitioning
The cost for sex transition varies according to the type of procedures performed. A male-to-female transition including surgery to form a vagina, breast augmentation, laser hair removal and facial feminization can cost anywhere from $50,000 to $67,000. For female-to-male transsexuals, genital and breast surgeries can run from $30,000 to $70,000, according to Carrie Davis, director of adult programs at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center in New York.