Washington’s Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) voted unanimously to provide inclusive health benefits for transgender people covered by PEBB plans.
The board approved providing coverage for treatment of gender dysphoria, a well-recognized medical condition in which the sex a person is assigned at birth does not match the gender they know themselves to be. Plans will cover non-surgical services to treat gender dysphoria by January 1, 2015, with coverage for surgical services to begin on July 1, 2015. Washington will become the fourth state in the country to provide inclusive coverage for these services for state workers, joining California, Oregon, and Maryland.
Legal Voice is proud to be a founding member of the Coalition for Inclusive Healthcare, a diverse group of organizations and individuals working to end discrimination in health care against transgender people in Washington. We testified before the PEBB several times to urge them to provide inclusive coverage in PEBB plans, and we will continue working with the Coalition to achieve equality in all Washington health plans.
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