HARPER JEAN: Hi, I'm Harper Jean. JAY: And I'm Jay.
HJ: We're here to tell you why 2017 is the best
time ever for transgender people to
enroll in health insurance. JAY: That's right.
January 31st is the deadline to enroll.
It's really important for you to get
healthcare coverage that covers all of
your healthcare needs. We're sure you have
questions about Obamacare because of the new
President and Congress, not to mention a
recent court case out of Texas that you
may have heard about. And we're here to
answer those questions. HJ: So one of the most
important things that trans people need
to know is that Obamacare bans gender
discrimination. And last year, the
Department of Health and Human Services
put out rules saying that means the law
bans discrimination against trans people
all around the country. The law also says
that insurance companies cannot have
broad exclusions for transition-related
care. That is huge! And it also said that
plans have to come in compliance with
that starting January 1st of this year.
JAY: Even better, we're pretty sure that
almost all the plans on healthcare.gov
have already removed those bans on transition-related
care. Our friends at Out2Enroll
surveyed 850 plans across 16 states, and
found that the vast majority of them had
already removed those exclusions. What's
even better than that is that 1 in 5
explicitly said that they would cover
some or all transition-related care. Now,
Out2Enroll couldn't survey all 50 states, but
we're pretty sure the other states are
on the same track and that most plans in
general don't have those bans anymore.
HJ: So, some insurance companies might still try to
refuse coverage for treatment and some
people may have to fight hard,
still, with their insurance companies to
get access to all the care that they
need. Here at NCTE, we're going to keep
fighting until no one needs to struggle to
gain access to the care that they need.
But still, this year, more people than ever are
going to have the opportunity to access
coverage for transition-related care. And
that's why we say that these plans
available between now and January 31st
really are the best ever for trans folks.
And you can go to Out2Enroll.org to
find transgender consumer information
guides for plans in the 16 states Jay mentioned.
JAY: Wow, that is awesome. But what about that
recent court ruling out of Texas. Didn't it
block the federal rules? HJ: I know hearing
that a judge blocked the rules sounds bad,
but it's not as bad as it sounds. First,
it's a temporary order. It could be reversed.
More important, the part of the law that
bans gender discrimination is still in
effect, and the ruling does not stop
individuals who have been discriminated
against from going to court. So if a health
insurer denies me care, I can reach out to
a lawyer, maybe with one of the LGBT legal
groups, and write a letter threatening to sue.
And in some cases that's enough to get
insurance plans to do the right thing.
JAY: Wow. That's a lot. Is there anything else folks
should know? HJ: There's one other thing that's
important. If you sign up for health
insurance for 2017 with a plan that
hopefully doesn't have a trans exclusion,
the plan can't just go back on that
mid-year and try to deny care that's
supposed to be covered under your plan.
You bought that plan, like you buy
anything else,
so they can't just go back on it. If they try, there
are things that you can do, and we will
be putting up a new detailed resource soon
that outlines what you can do and
how to understand the healthcare appeals
process. So look out for that.
JAY:Yeah, that's great. So another
question. I know that DC, where we are, and
18 other states have their own laws
preventing discrimination in healthcare.
How do they play into all this?
HJ: Well, those state protections are
really important. They're also a big part
of why plans this year are the best ever.
They provide another level of protection
and another place that people can go if
their plans do something that's
discriminatory.
JAY: That's great! And I know we just put out
the report of the U.S. Trans Survey
not too long ago. And it showed that half
of respondents who requested that their
insurance companies cover
transition-related surgery in the last year
got them covered, and three-quarters of people
who requested coverage for hormones
got that covered as well. And that was in 2015!
So with all of the improvements on the
state and federal levels, that number is
bound to be way up this year. So all in
all, it sounds like folks should expect more
from their insurance companies this year.
HJ: Definitely. But it's also important for
us all to demand more from our healthcare.
That's why we're going to be
putting out soon those more detailed resources for
just in case people need to appeal.
JAY:But wait. One last big thing...
What if Congress repeals Obamacare?
HJ: Well, as you know we're working really hard to
stop that from happening. But the bottom
line is, Obamacare is in effect for 2017.
Even if Congress repeals or changes part of
the law, it will still be in effect
for coverage for this year. So no matter
what, now really is the best time ever to
get the care you need. JAY: That's right. But you can
only take advantage of all the great
protections we've been talking about if
you sign up for health care. So enroll
by January 31st at healthcare.gov.
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