Hormone Referral Trouble

[luzoscura]

Since deciding to transition, I have been seeing a counselor in hopes of getting a referral to see an endo. After 5 sessions it has become clear that my counselor is not an expert on this matter, however she has been supportive and indicated to me that she would be willing to support my decision to seek HRT. As she has no experience, she has asked

Comments

[tommytesto]

It might be worth it to get the letter, whether you use it or not. Sometimes procedures later on can be backed up with a letter, which (if it were older) would also indicate stability of identity.

While I don't know how every insurance company works, most deny gender confirmation related care altogether, so pre-existing won't matter. Beyond that, it is my understanding of the diagnosis of GID that it is by definition something that is pre-existing, in other words, not a recent "condition," (pardon the medical framing), whether or not the client's realization of the situation has become clear recently.

I do hold out hope, too, that some form of the pathetic national standards for health care might remove the pre-existing condition exclusions. But that is further down the road.

[tommytesto]

PS - Another benefit of getting the letter now would be that when you move, however you pay for hormones, you would be less likely to have to establish a relationship with a new therapists simply to obtain what you can get now.

You can get the letter, and sit on it. It doesn't go on the books, as far as the letter goes. What goes on the books is what she is using as a diagnostic code for getting your current appts paid for by the insurance company. So you should ask about that. You can both get the letter reviewing your case and recommending you for hormones, and not have your current therapy coded as GID.

[fall_of_sophia]

yeah, same. I didn't need a letter for my doctor, but I got a general letter anyway in case of, you know, a bathroom controversy or something. and I kept a copy of it in my car in case police gave me shit about having mismatched ID.

[tommytesto]

That is another use for something like that. We used to call it a "carry letter."

If people want to do that, I would suggest getting a more general letter simply stating that the bearer (names, including legal) is undergoing treatment for gender confirmation and as part of that, dressing as ___ and accessing ___ spaces is necessary and appropriate.

That takes the matter out of the specific details which are often included in therapist referrals to other medical professionals, which usually includes duration of trans self-identity, lack of contraindication from other diagnoses, and so on.

[routemaps]

Read up on "pre-existing conditions" (I found an article on HowStuffWorks that seemed accurate according to my understanding). As long as you don't have gaps in your insurance coverage of more than 63 days, you can count your prior insurance as "creditable coverage" that exempts you from the pre-existing condition clause. When you end a relationship with an insurance company, they send you a document called "certificate of creditable coverage" which you should save FOREVER (along with your insurance card from that insurer) to establish that you've had insurance continuously.