Connecticut insurance companies required to provide sex change coverage

Connecticut health Insurance

Insurers in the state must also provide their policyholders with treatment and counseling for the procedures.

The Connecticut Insurance Department has now issued a directive that states that all insurers within the state must provide their policyholders with coverage for sex change operations, counseling, and treatments.

The department recently put out a bulletin to the various carriers throughout the state that indicated this requirement.

Connecticut Insurance - HealthAccording to the report, Connecticut insurance companies must all make certain that “individuals with gender dysphoria … are not denied access to medically necessary care because of the individual’s gender identity or gender expression.” This makes sure that individuals who have this specific condition will be able to easily and affordably obtain coverage in order to receive the treatment that they need.

Gender dysphoria is a recognized condition and must be covered by Connecticut insurance companies.

The American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder has said that gender dysphoria is a condition in which the patient feels that the “emotional and psychological identity as male or female to be opposite to one’s biological sex.” The bulletin from the department acknowledged that the APA has defined the condition and has stated that insurers within the state must also make the same acknowledgement so that patients who have it will be eligible for coverage.

Moreover, the bulletin also mentioned a law in the state from 2011, which bans discrimination that is based on gender identity. The report said that with the acknowledgement of the condition by the APA and the law against gender discrimination, it means that insurers in the state are required to pay “covered expenses” for gender dysphoria treatments for individuals whose cases deem treatment to be necessary under the medical standards that are generally accepted.

This regulation for Connecticut insurance companies is an important one in the state and in the country, as steps are taken to advance awareness, proper care, treatment, and acceptance for individuals who suffer from gender dysphoria and who may otherwise have been denied coverage for the healthcare services that they require. It is also likely that other states will look to this regulation when deciding their own requirements.

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