Victory for transgender rights

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John Stang

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John Stang Feb 6, 2018

Feb 6, 2018

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                <h1>Victory for transgender rights</h1>
                <h2><p>A state board voted unanimously on Thursday to offer insurance coverage for all transgender health services, The Olympian reports. Starting January 2015, employees will be covered for hormone therapy, office visits and mental health treatment. Coverage for sex reassignment surgeries will be available starting July 2015. The Public Employees Benefits</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/john-stang-crosscut-com/">John Stang</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>A state board voted unanimously on Thursday to offer insurance coverage for all transgender health services, <a href="http://www.theolympian.com/2014/07/31/3249622/pebb-votes-to-add-transgender.html?sp=/99/101/112/123/&ref=dev.cascadepbs.org">The Olympian reports</a>. Starting January 2015, employees will be covered for hormone therapy, office visits and mental health treatment. Coverage for sex reassignment surgeries will be available starting July 2015. The Public Employees Benefits Board estimates that the additional coverage for transgender care could cost $1 more per month per subscriber in the system serving approximately 350,000 state employees, family members and retirees. Other states, including California and Oregon, already cover these services for public employees, as do Seattle, King County and several major employers like Microsoft, Best Buy, Pepsico and Group Health Cooperative.“Providing the full range of services to transgender individuals is literally a matter of life and death,” said Seth Kirby, board president of Pride Foundation. “PEBB’s decision sends a clear message to transgender individuals that they matter, and paves the way for other employers to follow suit.” — M.L.</p>
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A state board voted unanimously on Thursday to offer insurance coverage for all transgender health services, The Olympian reports. Starting January 2015, employees will be covered for hormone therapy, office visits and mental health treatment. Coverage for sex reassignment surgeries will be available starting July 2015. The Public Employees Benefits Board estimates that the additional coverage for transgender care could cost $1 more per month per subscriber in the system serving approximately 350,000 state employees, family members and retirees. Other states, including California and Oregon, already cover these services for public employees, as do Seattle, King County and several major employers like Microsoft, Best Buy, Pepsico and Group Health Cooperative.“Providing the full range of services to transgender individuals is literally a matter of life and death,” said Seth Kirby, board president of Pride Foundation. “PEBB’s decision sends a clear message to transgender individuals that they matter, and paves the way for other employers to follow suit.” — M.L.

John Stang

By John Stang

John Stang is a freelance writer who often covers state government and the environment. He can be reached on email at johnstang_8@hotmail.com and on Twitter at @johnstang_8

John Stang is a freelance writer who often covers state government and the environment. He can be reached on email at johnstang_8@hotmail.com and on Twitter at @johnstang_8