The State Department is eliminating the “transgender exclusion” from its largest health insurance program, allowing sex reassignment services for employees on the plan beginning in January.
Insurance policies under the Federal Employees Health Benefits program typically exclude services related to sex reassignment, The Washington Post reported.
“Insurance companies often view this exclusion in the broadest possible terms, excluding care that clearly has no relationship to gender status such as cancer treatment and routine preventive care,” the State Department said in a statement.
The exclusions will no longer be part of the plan provided by the American Foreign Service Protective Association (AFSPA), which covers more than 57,000 active and retired federal employees and their families, The Post reported.
The AFSPA is the first of the State Department’s multiple health insurance providers to drop the exclusion after being called to do so.
“It’s about fairness and respect for our employees, but it’s also about showing the world we mean what we say and say what we mean,” Secretary of State John F. Kerry said in a statement to The Post. “It’s tough to tell other countries to provide equal opportunity if we’re not living that out ourselves. So this matters in many ways. I’ve met transgendered colleagues at the Department and in addition to being brave and strong, they’re just good officers. Why should they have it any different when it comes to health care?”
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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