The Associated Press @AP · 2h
BREAKING: Federal health board rules Medicare can pay for transgender recipients' sex-change surgeries.
The Associated Press @AP · 1h
MORE: The ruling lifts a three-decade-old ban on Medicare coverage for sex reassignment surgery:
http://apne.ws/1ps4cHb
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Transgender people receiving Medicare may no longer be automatically denied coverage for sex reassignment surgeries, a U.S. Department of Health and Services review board ruled Friday in a groundbreaking decision that recognizes the procedures as a medically necessary and effective treatment for individuals who do not identify with their biological sex.
Ruling in favor of a 74-year-old Army veteran whose request to have Medicare pay for her genital reconstruction was denied two years ago, the agency's Departmental Appeals Board ruled that a three-decade-old HHS rule excluding such surgeries from the procedures covered by the national health program for the elderly and disabled was unjustified.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/medic...surgery-lifted
