Today, a U.S. Department of Health and Services review board decided that Medicare will no longer deny the transgender community sex reassignment surgeries.
NBC News reports that the landmark decision came as the Departmental Appeals Board ruled in favor of a 74-year-old Army veteran Denee Mallon of Albuquerque, N.M., who was initially rejected when asking Medicare to cover the expense of her genital reconstruction surgery two years ago. The board ultimately decided that an ancient rule that prohibited the program from paying for surgeries was unfair.
However, the decision does not mean that Medicare beneficiaries are guaranteed to government-funded surgeries:
As NBC News mentions, advocates remain optimistic that this development will open doors for procedures to be paid for by private insurance providers on a regular basis.
[via NBC News]
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