Aetna Inc. announced that the health plans it offers to federal workers for 2015 will provide coverage for gender reassignment surgery, as reported by The Hartford Courant. According to the article, sex change operations are being covered more often in recent years as a medically necessary service for people with “gender dysphoria,” a condition in which a person is intensely uncomfortable with his or her biological gender and strongly identifies with, and wants to be, the opposite gender.
Connecticut’s Insurance Department issued a bulletin on December 19, 2013 advising insurers that discrimination against a person based on his or her gender identity or expression is prohibited, and the prohibition extends to health insurance coverage. In the bulletin, the department describes Connecticut’s statutes on (1) mental health parity in insurance coverage and (2) antidiscrimination for gender identity or expression. It directed all health insurers to review their policy documents and claim practices to ensure that people with gender dysphoria are not denied access to medically necessary care based on their gender identity or expression.
