[Transgender Awareness Week] Question of the Day: What are the three most common ways LGBTQ+ people cover the costs of gender-affirming care?

Answer:

The 3 most common ways LGBTQ+ people cover the costs of gender-affirming care are:

1. Personal savings
2. Health insurance
3. Credit card(s)

To ask:

• Of LGBTQ+ people who received gender-affirming care, what percentage had some costs covered by health insurance?
• Why do you think health insurance is the most common strategy for family building, while savings is the most common strategy for gender-affirming care?
• Use of credit cards and loans was highest for gender-affirming care, compared to other costs. What is one financial impact of that?

Click here for the ready-made slides of this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

Behind the numbers (CLEAR and MAP):

Gender-affirming health care includes a range of social, psychological, behavioral, and medical interventions designed to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity. Despite being medically necessary care and supported by all major medical organizations, less than half of states provide explicit protections for transgender people when it comes to health insurance coverage and nondiscrimination…

Overall, 7% of all LGBTQI+ respondents – including 50% of all transgender respondents – said they had ever received some form of gender-affirming medical care or health care, including but not limited to counseling, hormones or hormone replacement therapy, surgery, voice therapy and electrolysis. Another 6% of LGBTQI+ respondents said they wanted to receive gender-affirming care but chose not to do so due to cost.

“Notably, only one-third (34%) of LGBTQI+ people who had received gender-affirming care said they used their health insurance to pay for at least some of the cost, illustrating the heavy financial burden placed on these individuals when health insurers do not cover the cost of this medically necessary care. Indeed, the highest reported credit card use was for gender-affirming care, with 39% of those who received care reporting having to use their credit card(s) for the cost of this care.

The heavy reliance on personal savings and credit cards – especially for needs most often associated with the transgender community, which faces disproportionately high poverty rates – further highlights the financial barriers faced by LGBTQI+ people and shows that many are digging into their own pockets or taking on debt to finance these basic human needs.

About the author

Kathryn Dawson

Kathryn (she/her) is excited to join the NGPF team after 9 years of experience in education as a mentor, tutor, and special education teacher. She graduated from Cornell University with a degree in policy analysis and management and received a master’s degree in education from Brooklyn College. Kathryn looks forward to bringing her passion for accessibility and educational justice to curriculum design at NGPF. In her spare time, Kathryn enjoys tackling cooking projects, walking her dog around her Seattle neighborhood, or lounging in a hammock with a book.

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