Brown University’s Student Health Plan Now Covers Sex Change Operations
The health plan at one of the most prestigious institutions in the United States, Ivy League school Brown University, will begin to offer coverage of 14 different sexual reassignment surgical procedures, starting in August.
Brown University is one of the first to accommodate students who are looking to have the surgeries.
“We identified this as an important benefit for students to have access to,” Brown’s Director of Insurance and Purchasing Services, Jeanne Hebert, wrote in an email to the university’s student newspaper.
The change in the health plan is a part of the university’s “efforts to support all students.”
The total package of sexual reassignment surgeries, hormone therapy and other services could cost up to an estimated $50,000.
“I know people where it’s taken them 10 years because they needed to save money,” said the university’s LGBTQ Center coordinator, Kelly Garrett.
Sexual reassignment procedures have been deemed necessary by doctors, but man insurance companies regard them as cosmetic.
The access to hormones and surgery allows transgender students to avoid discrimination they may face without it.
Jordan Shepherd | Elite.
