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It's difficult to simply make the legal system do this. You have to back it up with investigatory teeth, and the victim still has to file an understandable com

It's difficult to simply make the legal system do this. You have to back it up with investigatory teeth, and the victim still has to file an understandable complaint to start the wheels turning. The legal system also has to be sufficiently "documented" so that people will file the right complaints. The net result is the same as the current system, basically. As an example, insurance covering trans care is required by state law in my state. Is it any easier to be trans in New York than other states? Yes. But you still get very familiar with your insurance claims process and the documentation hurdles. ("We need a letter from your therapist, not your doctor." This exists nowhere in WPATH8, but it does delay the money going out of their bank account while a therapist copy-pastes the form letter. One week to wait for your appointment. One week for them to turn it around. 2 weeks of interest earned by the insurance company. And that's the best case for the patient that already has the necessary support network.)

rwmj 2y ago
> You have to back it up with investigatory teeth, and the victim still has to file an understandable complaint to start the wheels turning. The legal system also has to be sufficiently "documented" so that people will file the right complaints. Correct, this is how it works in many other countries. > [Some stuff about health insurance documentation being complicated] Almost every developed country except the US has settled on some model of a single-payer system with universal coverage. This whole thing with private insurance companies and documentation requirements doesn't have to be a thing.
- jrockway 2y ago
  Honestly, those systems don't look too good for trans people. The NHS requires you to wait years to go on $40/month hormone replacement therapy. The government passed a law banning prescription of puberty blockers for kids that are undecided on which gender they'd like to be as adults, forcing them to go through the wrong puberty or work around the system. Saw a post on Reddit yesterday that was "I support my daughter but we can't keep her on GnRH analogues anymore because it's illegal here." The consensus was to fly to Spain once a month and pay cash for the injection, or skip puberty blockers and start estrogen early. This is not amazing. The single-payer model is unfortunately too political, and somehow being trans is a hot button political issue right now. It really, really sucks for these kids. Meanwhile in the US, there is a lot of hate, but a lot of insurance companies do cover the necessary care. They even pay for flights/hotels in other states when care isn't available in your state because of political issues. We all like to hate insurance, but seeing those things commonly available in private insurance policies is ... refreshing. You are still going to have to file appeals, but it's better than "the government doesn't believe in trans people so fuck you".
  - rwmj 2y ago
    It's important to note that nationalised healthcare doesn't preclude you from paying for services privately. Unlike with insurance-based systems, you just find out the prices up front, and if you like the price and can afford it, then you pay it. Plenty of people in the UK pay for cosmetic surgery and the like. > The government passed a law banning prescription of puberty blockers for kids This is completely independent of how health care is paid for. It might happen that a similar law is passed in the US, and the same would apply over there, private health insurance or not.
  - sssissk 2y ago
    Good to hear that the UK's ban on this abusive pharmaceutical intervention is working as intended. Those parents should be investigated by social services for this abuse. Destroying a crucial stage in your child's developmental process to adulthood is awful, deleterious, terrible parenting which shouldn't be enabled by anyone and needs to be urgently prevented.
    - jrockway 2y ago
      Forcing people to "transition" into the opposite gender that they identify with is also abusive when simple medical procedures are available that let you defer that situation until later. Like, would it really be a huge deal if you had a high voice and no facial hair until 18? If after much consideration you identify as a man, then you go off the puberty blockers and transition into one. If you identify as a woman, you start HRT and just go through puberty once. It's quite a stretch to call this abuse, and I know you know it, because you created a brand new throwaway account to make your comment.

rwmj 2y ago

> You have to back it up with investigatory teeth, and the victim still has to file an understandable complaint to start the wheels turning. The legal system also has to be sufficiently "documented" so that people will file the right complaints. Correct, this is how it works in many other countries. > [Some stuff about health insurance documentation being complicated] Almost every developed country except the US has settled on some model of a single-payer system with universal coverage. This whole thing with private insurance companies and documentation requirements doesn't have to be a thing.

jrockway 2y ago
Honestly, those systems don't look too good for trans people. The NHS requires you to wait years to go on $40/month hormone replacement therapy. The government passed a law banning prescription of puberty blockers for kids that are undecided on which gender they'd like to be as adults, forcing them to go through the wrong puberty or work around the system. Saw a post on Reddit yesterday that was "I support my daughter but we can't keep her on GnRH analogues anymore because it's illegal here." The consensus was to fly to Spain once a month and pay cash for the injection, or skip puberty blockers and start estrogen early. This is not amazing. The single-payer model is unfortunately too political, and somehow being trans is a hot button political issue right now. It really, really sucks for these kids. Meanwhile in the US, there is a lot of hate, but a lot of insurance companies do cover the necessary care. They even pay for flights/hotels in other states when care isn't available in your state because of political issues. We all like to hate insurance, but seeing those things commonly available in private insurance policies is ... refreshing. You are still going to have to file appeals, but it's better than "the government doesn't believe in trans people so fuck you".
- rwmj 2y ago
  It's important to note that nationalised healthcare doesn't preclude you from paying for services privately. Unlike with insurance-based systems, you just find out the prices up front, and if you like the price and can afford it, then you pay it. Plenty of people in the UK pay for cosmetic surgery and the like. > The government passed a law banning prescription of puberty blockers for kids This is completely independent of how health care is paid for. It might happen that a similar law is passed in the US, and the same would apply over there, private health insurance or not.
- sssissk 2y ago
  Good to hear that the UK's ban on this abusive pharmaceutical intervention is working as intended. Those parents should be investigated by social services for this abuse. Destroying a crucial stage in your child's developmental process to adulthood is awful, deleterious, terrible parenting which shouldn't be enabled by anyone and needs to be urgently prevented.
  - jrockway 2y ago
    Forcing people to "transition" into the opposite gender that they identify with is also abusive when simple medical procedures are available that let you defer that situation until later. Like, would it really be a huge deal if you had a high voice and no facial hair until 18? If after much consideration you identify as a man, then you go off the puberty blockers and transition into one. If you identify as a woman, you start HRT and just go through puberty once. It's quite a stretch to call this abuse, and I know you know it, because you created a brand new throwaway account to make your comment.