In a piece for the New York Times (6/13, Subscription Publication), Parker Marie Molloy, a freelance journalist and activist, praises HHS for overturning the “decades-old ban on Medicare coverage for gender-confirming surgeries,” but warns that state-level restrictions remain. These, she says, leave “many, many” people without such coverage. Molloy concludes by urging readers to “stop fearing what we don’t understand, and push to end the anti-transgender stigma that empowers politicians and insurance companies to deny relatively inexpensive, lifesaving medical treatment.”
However, in a piece for the Wall Street Journal (6/13, Mchugh, Subscription Publication), Dr. Paul McHugh, former psychiatrist in chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital, argues that simply providing surgery for transgendered individuals will not solve their underlying mental health issues.
Related Links:
— “Under the Skin: The Next Fight for Transgender Insurance Equality,” Parker Marie Malloy, New York Times, June 12, 2014.