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So, I contribute to a hyper-local news page, and at one point I got pushback from others for posting LGBTQ+ content because the amount of moderation the comments required. Because of that, I decided to start my own Transgender focused LGBTQ+ news page, but I haven't had as much time to put into it by myself, as I previously wanted, but it anyone wants to help out, please let me know.
But specifically, I have been wanting to write a piece about transgender health care, and gatekeeping, with specific emphasis on gatekeeping from practitioners who are part of our community, and I was wondering if anyone had any stories to offer.
I personally went to someone who had transitioned, and was on my insurance plan, and told the intake appointment was specifically priced higher than my insurance would pay, to make sure I was serious about being trans. They literally put a financial lock on the gate.
I have heard other stories like this in the past and am looking for contributors that might like to share their stories with me.
Comments
Where is this?
This is not my experience, but (a) I am in the USA and (b) on Medicare.
Are you in the USA? If so, what sort of insurance is this?
Generally, the way medical insurance works in the USA, if the medical provider "accepts the insurance", that means they have a contract with the insurance company which specifies what they can charge the insurance company and what they can charge the patient. If they try to charge you anything above that, they get in trouble with the insurance company. (The EOB you get from the insurance company for the claim explicitly says that the provider is not allowed to charge anything more.)
If they don't have a contract, they charge what they want and you pay it yourself, and you then file a claim with your insurance, but then they aren't accepting your insurance and they aren't on your plan. I ran into this with the first surgeon I tried to get SRS with. During the process of getting accepted and scheduled for SRS, I retired and went on (USA) Medicare (no relation to Canadian Medicare), only to be told that the surgeon did not accept my insurance, and they wouldn't accept me as a patient even if I agreed to pay the whole thing out of pocket. (I am getting SRS from a different surgeon, who everyone says is better anyway.)
Again, I'm only speaking of how it's done in the USA. I can't speak for other countries.
If you're not in the USA, are there any other medical practices you can go to?
BTW, your description is confusing:
If you say "someone" had transitioned, that would mean they were the (trans) patient, not the medical provider. Or are you saying that the doctor was themself trans, as well as being a provider of some sort of transition medical care? I.e., you specifically restricted yourself to doctors who were trans?