Posted on Jul 10, 2016
New rule would let VA provide sex reassignment surgery to transgender vets
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Veterans Affairs doctors could begin providing sex reassignment surgery in coming years under a new rule proposed by the department.
The move would remove a long-held ban on the surgery and likely provide another cultural point of controversy in the wake of federal rules, issued last month, that mandate public schools allow transgender students to use the bathroom of the gender they choose.
The proposal, made public this week by transgender advocates and Time magazine, states that past surgical procedures were poorly understood. Officials therefore could not justify providing them to veterans with gender dysphoria, a condition experienced by individuals who don’t identify with their biological gender for a variety of mental and physiological reasons.
“However, increased understanding of both gender dysphoria and surgical techniques in this area have improved significantly, and surgical procedures are now widely accepted in the medical community as medically necessary treatment for gender dysphoria,” the proposed rule says.
“Additionally, recent medical research shows that gender dysphoria is a serious condition that has had severe medical consequences for certain patients if transition-related surgeries and procedures are not provided.”
Advocates hailed the move as both an important step forward for equality and a signal that the department is committed to offering the best available health care to all veterans.
"So many veterans rely on the VA for important medical care that they have earned serving our nation, including transgender veterans,” said Ashley Broadway-Mack, president of the American Military Partner Association. “Gender confirmation surgery is often a critically important and medically necessary treatment, and lifting this ban is long overdue."
Decisions on whether veterans should undergo the surgery would be made on a case-by-case basis, after consultation with VA medical experts.
No timetable has been specified for when the department might start offering the surgery, but such changes can take several years to work through federal bureaucracy.
VA officials told Time magazine that the proposed change has already been in the works since 2014, the same year Medicare officials lifted a ban on the surgery.
The National Center for Transgender Equality estimates that more than 134,000 veterans are transgender, and more than 15,000 transgender individuals are serving in military today despite rules forbidding them from serving openly.
Follow @LeoShane
Leo Shane III covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He can be reached at [login to see] .
The move would remove a long-held ban on the surgery and likely provide another cultural point of controversy in the wake of federal rules, issued last month, that mandate public schools allow transgender students to use the bathroom of the gender they choose.
The proposal, made public this week by transgender advocates and Time magazine, states that past surgical procedures were poorly understood. Officials therefore could not justify providing them to veterans with gender dysphoria, a condition experienced by individuals who don’t identify with their biological gender for a variety of mental and physiological reasons.
“However, increased understanding of both gender dysphoria and surgical techniques in this area have improved significantly, and surgical procedures are now widely accepted in the medical community as medically necessary treatment for gender dysphoria,” the proposed rule says.
“Additionally, recent medical research shows that gender dysphoria is a serious condition that has had severe medical consequences for certain patients if transition-related surgeries and procedures are not provided.”
Advocates hailed the move as both an important step forward for equality and a signal that the department is committed to offering the best available health care to all veterans.
"So many veterans rely on the VA for important medical care that they have earned serving our nation, including transgender veterans,” said Ashley Broadway-Mack, president of the American Military Partner Association. “Gender confirmation surgery is often a critically important and medically necessary treatment, and lifting this ban is long overdue."
Decisions on whether veterans should undergo the surgery would be made on a case-by-case basis, after consultation with VA medical experts.
No timetable has been specified for when the department might start offering the surgery, but such changes can take several years to work through federal bureaucracy.
VA officials told Time magazine that the proposed change has already been in the works since 2014, the same year Medicare officials lifted a ban on the surgery.
The National Center for Transgender Equality estimates that more than 134,000 veterans are transgender, and more than 15,000 transgender individuals are serving in military today despite rules forbidding them from serving openly.
Follow @LeoShane
Leo Shane III covers Congress, Veterans Affairs and the White House for Military Times. He can be reached at [login to see] .
New rule would let VA provide sex reassignment surgery to transgender vets
Posted from navytimes.comPosted in these groups: 
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
Transgender
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Transgender
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 10
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Gender reassignment surgery by itself isn't that costly SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL. The hormone treatment required for the rest if their life is the bigger expense. I hope tax payers would not be footing the bill for the elective post-surgery hormonal treatments and that the VA and the federal government would not be liable for surgical errors in good faith surgery.
To be honest, I find this comical that with all of the serious issues veterans are facing from gulf war syndrome, agent orange and other chemical agent exposures, etc. that rules are being established with protocols, etc. for gender reassignment surgery at selected VA surgical centers - OJT would not be welcomed most likely:-)
Those of us who served in Europe in the 1980s still can't donate blood because the priority to develop blood tests to rule in or out our level of human variant of the bovine spongiform antibodies.
[7-11-2016 Update.] I have been taking blood pressure medications for over twenty years to keep me alive. I learned last year that one of the unintended side effects of those medications as a class is that after 20 years the heart becomes more rigid and diastolic dysfunction occurs. For most people that happens in their 80s but for me it happened in my 50s.
I have been taking cholesterol reducing medications for over twenty years because of a hereditary tendency to high triglycerides. My liver function is checked at lest annually. I have had my medication switched three times because of liver function problems.
Cardiology medications have been studied for a very long time so there is a significant amount of peer-reviewed research available.
I have been on other medications for 8 years at this point such as analgesics and gastroenterology - I am aware of the long term risks of those and have blood tests each year.
COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. Capt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt (Join to see) SGT (Join to see) SSG Leo Bell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT Forrest Stewart SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT Robert Hawks SGT Robert George SrA Christopher Wright SPC Corbin Sayi Kim Bolen RN CCM ACM
To be honest, I find this comical that with all of the serious issues veterans are facing from gulf war syndrome, agent orange and other chemical agent exposures, etc. that rules are being established with protocols, etc. for gender reassignment surgery at selected VA surgical centers - OJT would not be welcomed most likely:-)
Those of us who served in Europe in the 1980s still can't donate blood because the priority to develop blood tests to rule in or out our level of human variant of the bovine spongiform antibodies.
[7-11-2016 Update.] I have been taking blood pressure medications for over twenty years to keep me alive. I learned last year that one of the unintended side effects of those medications as a class is that after 20 years the heart becomes more rigid and diastolic dysfunction occurs. For most people that happens in their 80s but for me it happened in my 50s.
I have been taking cholesterol reducing medications for over twenty years because of a hereditary tendency to high triglycerides. My liver function is checked at lest annually. I have had my medication switched three times because of liver function problems.
Cardiology medications have been studied for a very long time so there is a significant amount of peer-reviewed research available.
I have been on other medications for 8 years at this point such as analgesics and gastroenterology - I am aware of the long term risks of those and have blood tests each year.
COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Stephen C. Capt Seid Waddell CW5 (Join to see) SMSgt Minister Gerald A. Thomas SGM David W. Carr LOM, DMSM MP SGT SSG James J. Palmer IV aka "JP4" SSgt (Join to see) SGT (Join to see) SSG Leo Bell SP5 Mark Kuzinski SGT Forrest Stewart SGT John " Mac " McConnell SGT Robert Hawks SGT Robert George SrA Christopher Wright SPC Corbin Sayi Kim Bolen RN CCM ACM
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SGT Laura Delgadillo
This is not an elective treatment. It is a treatment for a condition known as Gender Dysphoria. Only medical professionals can determine what is necessary and majority of them agree that it is a necessary operation.
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SGT Laura Delgadillo
Also the hormone treatment isn't that expensive, from the paperwork I've received from tricare showing the cost of my medications it is about 50 dollars for a 3 month supply. 200 dollars a year.
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LTC Stephen F.
CW2 Lindsey Muller - CW2 Lindsey Muller Thanks for letting us know that your hormonal treatments are not expensive at this point. Hopefully that will continue. I was focusing on long term treatment.
I have been taking blood pressure medications for over twenty years to keep me alive. I learned last year that one of the unintended side effects of those medications as a class is that after 20 years the heart becomes more rigid and diastolic dysfunction occurs. For most people that happens in their 80s but for me it happened in my 50s.
You may want to discuss ways to mitigate the long term side effects of taking hormone treatments with your physicians. There may be ways they are already aware of to reduce the probability of negative side effects.
I have been taking cholesterol reducing medications for over twenty years because of a hereditary tendency to high triglycerides. My liver function is checked at lest annually. I have had my medication switched three times because of liver function problems.
Cardiology medications have been studied for a very long time so there is a significant amount of peer-reviewed research available.
I have been on other medications for 8 years at this point such as analgesics and gastroenterology - I am aware of the long term risks of those and have blood tests each year. @PO1
FYI SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Capt Christopher Mueller
I have been taking blood pressure medications for over twenty years to keep me alive. I learned last year that one of the unintended side effects of those medications as a class is that after 20 years the heart becomes more rigid and diastolic dysfunction occurs. For most people that happens in their 80s but for me it happened in my 50s.
You may want to discuss ways to mitigate the long term side effects of taking hormone treatments with your physicians. There may be ways they are already aware of to reduce the probability of negative side effects.
I have been taking cholesterol reducing medications for over twenty years because of a hereditary tendency to high triglycerides. My liver function is checked at lest annually. I have had my medication switched three times because of liver function problems.
Cardiology medications have been studied for a very long time so there is a significant amount of peer-reviewed research available.
I have been on other medications for 8 years at this point such as analgesics and gastroenterology - I am aware of the long term risks of those and have blood tests each year. @PO1
FYI SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL PO1 William "Chip" Nagel Capt Christopher Mueller
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Can't believe this is a priority when so many vets are dying waiting for care.
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SGT Laura Delgadillo , is Gender Dysphoria something that can be caused by service to our country? I support you and those with your circumstances being able to serve our country. I also support Tri-Care coverage while you serve. But, from what I understand Gender Dysphoria is a condition you are born with. If that is the case I just do not see it as something that can be covered as being service connected by the VA. How do you reconcile service connection for treatment by the VA?
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SGT Tracey "Tra" Cooper-Harris
What's interesting is the VA will take care of injuries or issues incurred in service or that they let you in with that has been aggravated /gotten worse due to your service.
The Army let me in with flat feet. It was actually marked abnormal on my original MEPS exam back in 1991. Same premise.
The Army let me in with flat feet. It was actually marked abnormal on my original MEPS exam back in 1991. Same premise.
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SGT Laura Delgadillo
I'll be honest here, I don't know how the VA works or what is covered by the VA. I still have a while before I get out. So I can't answer that question.
My best guess is because the service members were kicked out for being trans? But that's all all just an assumption.
Thank you for your point, hopefully someone else has more insight than me.
My best guess is because the service members were kicked out for being trans? But that's all all just an assumption.
Thank you for your point, hopefully someone else has more insight than me.
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