California Official: Insurance Must Cover Double Mastectomies for Young Girls with Gender Dysphoria

closeup of a transgender symbol painted in the palm of the hand of a young caucasian perso
nito100/Getty Images
Dr. Susan Berry

The California insurance commissioner says young girls who claim to be uncomfortable with their biological sex must be provided with coverage for elective double mastectomies to cope with their gender dysphoria.

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara asked the California Department of Insurance to issue a notice stating young girls cannot be denied coverage for elective double mastectomies on the basis of their age, the Post Millennial reported Sunday:

“For far too long, individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria have had to battle a host of challenges to get access to gender-affirming care in order to be their true selves,” Lara stated in a press release, adding:

Social stigma, misconceptions about gender dysphoria and its treatment, and outdated medical criteria create barriers to necessary medical care that can lead to tragic results for individuals with gender dysphoria, especially for our transgender youth.

According to the press release, Lara’s office has received “complaints” via San Diego’s TransFamily Support Services that young people with gender dysphoria and their parents reported insurance companies were denying coverage for elective double mastectomies and other radical transgender surgeries for people under the age of 18.

Lara’s office apparently considers the suggestion that a young girl and her parents take more time to consider such drastic bodily alterations as “needlessly delaying” the surgery.

“To be proactive, health insurance companies should evaluate their coverage criteria for gender dysphoria treatment and eliminate any noncompliant practices to avoid needlessly delaying and interfering with medical care recommended by a patient’s doctor,” the press statement said.

Kathie Moehlig, executive director of TransFamily Support Services, said in the statement the group is “proud to partner with the California Department of Insurance to remove the age barrier for gender-affirming care.”

Moehlig continued:

This barrier was discriminatory and detrimental to the lives of trans youth, To have to navigate the overwhelming barriers to health care should not be a part of their experience. Transgender youth already face so many challenges from unsupportive families, bullying at school, social stigmas, and even violence.

Additionally, Dr. Ward Carpenter, co-director of health services at the Los Angeles LGBT Center, said California is now putting “insurance companies on notice that they cannot deny access to medically-necessary care based on outdated rules that are not supported by evidence or scientific consensus.”

Carpenter said by issuing the legal notice to insurance companies, the state is expanding “access to health care” and also taking “an important step in saving the lives of transgender and non-binary (TGNB) adolescents struggling with gender dysphoria, depression and suicidal thoughts.”

In September, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed legislation that establishes a “Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund” that may be used for transgender medical interventions, many of which are known to cause sterility in children.

Feminist group Women’s Liberation Front (WoLF) opposed the legislation:

The statement from Lara’s office also cites recommendations from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), referring to the group as “an international professional association that provides evidence-based standards of care for transgender people.”

The Department of Insurance continued that WPATH states “male chest reconstruction surgery to treat gender dysphoria could be carried out in individuals under 18 ‘depending on an adolescent’s specific clinical situation and goals for gender identity expression.’”

WPATH, however, is an organization whose reputation has been called into question by an increasing number of medical experts and analysts because it receives funding from transgender industry and advocacy groups.

Atlanta-based pediatric endocrinologist Dr. Quentin Van Meter explained to Breitbart News during an interview in 2018 that WPATH was launched by psychologist John Money and sexologist Alfred Kinsey, who was a colleague of Harry Benjamin, to push a political agenda for gender ideology. WPATH’s original title was the Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association (HBIGDA).

“This is not a scientifically based organization,” Van Meter said. “It’s essentially a pseudo-professional group of people who are pushing an agenda and have been since the beginning.”

“To be a member in WPATH, you only need to have an interest in transgender issues,” he explained. “There is no professional degree required, no training specifically, no certification. If you want to be a member, all you need to do is pay your dues.”

WPATH’s website includes a page devoted to “scholarship funds” that names some of the organization’s sponsors “who work on both a national and global scope to magnify our efforts in a proactive way.”

The association states its “focus” is “on collaborations in three areas”:

  • General Rights – Partners such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, United Nations Development Programs and the World Health Organization
  • Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity- Partners such as the Human Rights Campaign and The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA)
  • Trans* Specific – Partner such as the National Center for Transgender Equality, Transgender Europe (TGEU) and Global Action for Trans* Equality (GATE)

In November 2019, Breitbart News reported that crowdfunding site GoFundMe showed that more than 26,000 girls and women were seeking financial assistance to have elective double mastectomies, or “top surgery,” in order to appear more masculine.

Despite the focus on surgery to change one’s appearance in order to look more like the opposite sex, there is no scientific evidence that transgender treatments such as puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgeries, actually benefit young people with gender dysphoria, mainly because gender identity is a psychological — and not a biological — phenomenon.

In July 2019, attorney and writer Jane Robbins observed at the Witherspoon Institute’s Public Discourse:

The concept of changing one’s biological sex is, of course, nonsense, as sex is determined by unalterable chromosomes. An individual can change his hormone levels and undergo surgery to better imitate the opposite sex, but a male on the day of his conception will remain a male on the day of his death. And as discussed below, the idea that there is a real personal trait called “gender” that challenges or invalidates the identity significance of biological sex is equally fallacious. But the absence of genuine evidence is simply ignored, and faux “evidence” is created to validate the mania.

The lucrative transgender industry is now enthusiastically treating gender dysphoria with expensive and life-altering medical interventions and surgeries. The cost of double elective mastectomy, for example, is over $10,000.

COMMENTS

Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.