For the past two years, she said, her insurance provider has refused to cover a medically recommended facial reconstruction surgery.
It’s a problem many transgender people in Washington state have encountered, despite a state law that bans insurance companies from discrimination based on a person’s gender identity. According to the state Office of the Insurance Commissioner, insurers have sometimes labeled gender-affirming treatments — such as mastectomies and other transition surgeries — as cosmetic procedures that aren’t medically necessary, even when they are recommended by a person’s doctor.
Under a new bill approved by Washington’s Legislature this year, such denials will no longer be allowed. Senate Bill 5313, which awaits a signature
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