A little over a month ago, in August 2022, a statewide multidisciplinary group of mental health professionals with expertise in gender-affirming care sent a press release addressing the challenge to the Husky Department of Social Services. did. We recently updated our policy on gender-affirming healthcare. .
We were both surprised and disappointed to see some of the September 8th content. Connecticut Health Research Team or the mirror article C-HIT.org, “Access and insurance remain barriers to gender reassignment surgery in CT. ”
While this article explores some of the barriers to gender-affirming care in Connecticut, an Aug. 17 press release detailing additional barriers enacted by DSS for Husky clients You do your readers a disservice by omitting the concerns raised by this group of providers. Review requirements for gender-affirming care, i.e. letters from mental health providers in support of care requests.
Our concern begins with the experts cited in the article. The quotes are all reportedly from white, cisgender experts on transcare. The reporter did not consult a well-known transgender provider of gender-affirming care in this state.
Few providers have participated in Fenway’s transecho, and our clinician group has concerns about the training being considered professional (National LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center) or sought external training on transgender care. The expert cited had the opportunity to encourage reporters to seek out comments from gender-affirming health care transgender providers about these policies, but did not. None of us were contacted as a group of LGBTQIA+ providers of gender-affirming healthcare who spread sharp criticism of DSS/Husky policies in the media.
Furthermore, while the article supports DSS actions, it does not address the recent increase in gatekeeping due to policy changes, creating barriers for those seeking gender-affirming care on Medicaid. , no mention is made of the insurmountable barriers for Medicaid recipients, who cannot afford to pay thousands of dollars out of their own pocket for care, which Connecticut health care providers do not provide or provide. Paying out-of-pocket for care you don’t do is also not allowed. Accept Husky payments.
A group of us have met over the past few days to review and discuss this article, but we also took issue with the article’s ignorance of the issue of body autonomy.Gender at Anchor Health It’s harmful and has been outdated for years, according to AJ Eckert, M.D., medical director of the & Life-Affirming Medicine Program. In fact, Laura Saunders, a psychologist quoted in your article, mentioned the mental health letter, but ignored the gatekeeper’s nature because she “provides guidance in a very murky area.” .
Bodily autonomy is not a vague theme. Desiring bodily autonomy is not a mental health pathology. Individuals should not be required to receive treatment. Identity verification is an internal process. Letters are invasive, costly, time consuming and completely unnecessary. The only “approval” required is the patient’s informed consent and baseline medical ability to perform the intended procedure in exactly the same process as a patient being screened for other types of surgery. must be based on
The article states, “Medicare, Husky, and many insurers World Association of Transgender Health Professionals (WPATH)”, but the Connecticut DSS implements rules that are not proven or supported by best practices or guidelines.
There is growing evidence that gender reassignment surgery reduces mental health concerns. Exacerbating mental health conditions is the added barrier to surgery. To tell the full story about access to health care for transgender and nonbinary people, Mirror needs to uncover the issues we detailed.
Alison D. Pratt, LPC/LMHC, represented by: Alexandra Solomon, LCSW. Molly Conley, PsyD; Lauren Millard, LCSW. Kayti Protos, DSW, LCSW; Laura S. Dodge, LCSW. Rebecca Toner, LCPC; Sarah A. Gilbert, LCSW.
