Posted on Sep 19, 2016
Pentagon to cover sex-reassignment surgery for transgende | Military Times
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Title: Pentagon to cover sex-reassignment surgery for transgender active-duty troops
Transgender troops on active duty may qualify for sex-reassignment surgery if their physicians deem it necessary, according to Pentagon officials.
After news broke last week that incarcerated Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning was granted authorization to undergo gender reassignment surgery, a Defense Department spokesman said Monday that the option is available to all transgender active-duty troops if their doctors recommend it and senior military health officials approve it.
The announcement clarifies the scope of treatment available to transgender military personnel and differs significantly from earlier Defense Department statements, which noted that cosmetic surgery for gender reassignment “in most cases” would be considered elective and not covered by the military health system.
The benefit does not apply to non-active duty Tricare beneficiaries. Defense Department spokesman Air Force Maj. Ben Sakrisson said that starting Oct. 3, the military health program will cover therapy and hormone treatments for Tricare beneficiaries with gender dysphoria but not surgery.
According to Sakrisson, gender reassignment surgeries for active-duty personnel will be conducted at either a military hospital or, if qualified care is unavailable at a military facility, at a private hospital paid by Tricare.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced June 30 that gender dysphoria is no longer a disqualifying condition for military service.
Under the new policy, transgender troops must have a personal transition plan approved by a military doctor, a standard requirement for major procedures for active-duty troops.
When Carter made the announcement, defense officials said DoD didn't expect a large number of requests for surgery as many transgender individuals do not choose to undergo surgery.
They added that the most common treatment for gender dysphoria is hormone therapy, but some surgeries, such as breast implants and resconstruction may be deemed medically necessary.
According to a USA TODAY report on Sept. 16, at least five transgender troops are pursuing treatment outside the military health care system, including one seeking sex-reassignment surgery.
Three are sailors or Marines and the other two are airmen, according to the report.
Manning’s attorneys said Sept. 13 the Army had agreed to cover the cost of gender reassignment surgery for the soldier, who is serving a 35-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth Disciplinary Barracks in Kansas for disclosing classified material and unclassified sensitive documents to the website WikiLeaks.
Manning ended a five-day hunger strike after being told she was eligible for surgery, according to her American Civil Liberties Union attorneys.
The Veterans Affairs Department has proposed a plan that would allow VA to cover sex-reassignment surgery on a case-by-case basis.
A Rand Corp. report estimated that between 1,320 and 6,630 active-duty personnel are transgender. The report estimated that between 29 and 129 troops might seek medical treatment, including hormones or surgery, a year, for their condition.
Advocates say the cost of providing health treatment for gender dysphoria is $40,000 to $50,000 over the lifetime of the service member.
Patricia Kime covers military health care and medicine for Military Times. She can be reached at [login to see] .
Transgender troops on active duty may qualify for sex-reassignment surgery if their physicians deem it necessary, according to Pentagon officials.
After news broke last week that incarcerated Army Pvt. Chelsea Manning was granted authorization to undergo gender reassignment surgery, a Defense Department spokesman said Monday that the option is available to all transgender active-duty troops if their doctors recommend it and senior military health officials approve it.
The announcement clarifies the scope of treatment available to transgender military personnel and differs significantly from earlier Defense Department statements, which noted that cosmetic surgery for gender reassignment “in most cases” would be considered elective and not covered by the military health system.
The benefit does not apply to non-active duty Tricare beneficiaries. Defense Department spokesman Air Force Maj. Ben Sakrisson said that starting Oct. 3, the military health program will cover therapy and hormone treatments for Tricare beneficiaries with gender dysphoria but not surgery.
According to Sakrisson, gender reassignment surgeries for active-duty personnel will be conducted at either a military hospital or, if qualified care is unavailable at a military facility, at a private hospital paid by Tricare.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced June 30 that gender dysphoria is no longer a disqualifying condition for military service.
Under the new policy, transgender troops must have a personal transition plan approved by a military doctor, a standard requirement for major procedures for active-duty troops.
When Carter made the announcement, defense officials said DoD didn't expect a large number of requests for surgery as many transgender individuals do not choose to undergo surgery.
They added that the most common treatment for gender dysphoria is hormone therapy, but some surgeries, such as breast implants and resconstruction may be deemed medically necessary.
According to a USA TODAY report on Sept. 16, at least five transgender troops are pursuing treatment outside the military health care system, including one seeking sex-reassignment surgery.
Three are sailors or Marines and the other two are airmen, according to the report.
Manning’s attorneys said Sept. 13 the Army had agreed to cover the cost of gender reassignment surgery for the soldier, who is serving a 35-year sentence at Fort Leavenworth Disciplinary Barracks in Kansas for disclosing classified material and unclassified sensitive documents to the website WikiLeaks.
Manning ended a five-day hunger strike after being told she was eligible for surgery, according to her American Civil Liberties Union attorneys.
The Veterans Affairs Department has proposed a plan that would allow VA to cover sex-reassignment surgery on a case-by-case basis.
A Rand Corp. report estimated that between 1,320 and 6,630 active-duty personnel are transgender. The report estimated that between 29 and 129 troops might seek medical treatment, including hormones or surgery, a year, for their condition.
Advocates say the cost of providing health treatment for gender dysphoria is $40,000 to $50,000 over the lifetime of the service member.
Patricia Kime covers military health care and medicine for Military Times. She can be reached at [login to see] .
Pentagon to cover sex-reassignment surgery for transgende | Military Times
Posted from militarytimes.comPosted in these groups: 
Transgender
Transgender
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 9
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Well, this is certainly going to encourage lots of Trans-people to enlist. This just became the best, least expensive way to get this done.
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I find this to be totally absurd. I have a friend whose daughter was disabled to problems with her feet after graduating from USMC Boot Camp. She even offered to pay for treatment at a private facility so that she could return to duty. Nope. No way. She was given a medical discharge. So now she's going to receive lifetime disability payments for a correctable condition that she would have paid for herself and then served out her full enlistment thus providing a return on the investment that the Corps had already made in her. In light of that, how are we to feel about this lunacy?
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I need some help on this. If a SM is convicted and sent to confinement, then are they still considered SM's? If so, who's books are they on, they're not doing CTT or APFT's, and I thought they are called inmate or prisoner. Also at the end of the trial, aren't they chaptered out of service with their discharge being negative? I'm honesty not getting this. Manning is an inmate. He's not AD,NG, or RC, so how would this help him? WHY should it help him?
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Maj John Bell
I believe that all Federal prisoners do not pay for their medical care as they are considered as wards of the state. So for example if a Federal Prisoner had required medical treatment/hospitalization, they receive said care and have no requirement to have insurance, pay co-pays etc. etc.
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SSG Bill McCoy
Maj John Bell - That's correct Major, but reassignment surgery is ELECTIVE surgery, even if shrinks say it's necessary for the person's well-being. Manning was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, after disclosing to WikiLeaks nearly 750,000 classified, or unclassified but sensitive, military and diplomatic documents. That should make him inelligible for ANY elective surgery or treatment. More so because he is NO LONGER in custody.
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