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Transgender Woman Gets Health Insurance Company To Pay For Sex Change
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 4, 2012
Modified Oct 4, 2012
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Ida Hammer, who is still anatomically male but identifies as female.
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 4, 2012
Modified Oct 4, 2012
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In the old days when someone wanted to pay for a sex change operation they just robbed a bank. But now insurance companies are paying for procedure, at least in the case of Queens resident Ida Hammer, whose insurance company has finally agreed to pay for her male-to-female genital reassignment surgery. OBAMA!
MVP Health Care at first balked at paying for Hammer's surgery, arguing that it was "not medically necessary" and fell into the "cosmetic surgery" exclusion in their plan. But Hammer was determined, and enlisted the help of the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund, which successfully argued that Hammer's "Gender Identity Disorder" is characterized by the AM as a "serious medical condition" that if left untreated "can result in clinically significant psychological distress, dysfunction, debilitating depression, and, for some people without access to appropriate medical care and treatment, death."
After denying two appeals, MVP reversed its decision and will provide full coverage for the procedure, which usually costs around $20,000 not including follow-ups and therapy. "My insurance company should not be second-guessing my doctors," says a victorious Hammer. "I’m relieved that it is finally treating me fairly and covering the health care I need."
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health insurance
ida hammer
transgender
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John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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