Free(ish) SRS?

[Promethea]

Yesterday I was talking to a guest at the inn, from Hungary, and she told me about a transgender friend of hers, from Austria, who got 60% of the cost of the operation covered by the government.

As some of you know, right now I don't have a stable income by my own choice, but even if I got back to what I call my home country, it's in that part of the world where with my profession it would take many years to save enough for SRS, BA and FFS with a reputable surgeon.

In Uruguay we have free healthcare, and it's supposed to cover these surgeries and HRT, but that department has gone into and indefinite hiatus, and well, it's great that free healthcare exists, but with the resources it gets... The quality is not the best, and I don't thing I would trust them with SRS...

Do you know wich countries offer free or partly subsidized treatment for GD? Since there are members from many countries, do any of you have first hand experience with it?

Although I was raised in Uruguay I'm also Swedish, so I can freely get residence in any country from the UE, and from Latinamerica as an Uruguayan. I could consider staying a few years in one place to go though with that. Also, after I feel I have travelled enough I'll be spending a few years in Canada (I know I can get a visa for Quebec with relative ease).

Thanks for any information and experiences you can share!

Ps: this thread was moved to a public section, so feel free to PM me if you don't feel comfortable talking about results here.

[Frances]

I live in Quebec and SRS was paid by government healthcare. I have a friend who immigrated from Panama, and the Quebec government paid for it as well, after she filled the residency requirements. I also know someone from Mexico who had government-funded SRS after being here for a while.

They also loosened the regulations for therapy prior to SRS in Quebec. It used to be that only one hospital and gender clinic was allowed to approve surgery. Their program was quite long and expensive (I should know, I went through it). Many psychologists and psychiatrists are now allowed to give the go ahead, and some of them require only a few sessions.

[Promethea]

Oh, more great stories about Quebec! I hear so many good things that I wonder if I'll get disappointed when I get there.

How did it go? Are you pleased with the results? Do you have any complaints about the whole process?

Did your friends have to wait until they got permanent residency or were they able to at least start HRT and counseling with a temporary residency (IIRC it's two or three years living there before applying for permanent)?

[KaraK]

I don't know how it goes here in France when you're not French but my therapist explained me that everything would be paid by healthcare if we stick with the program defined by a group of therapists/surgeons/endocrinologists... It takes something like 2 years and they can accept or not to begin HRT and SRS but if they do, its "free".

[I Am Paula]

Before you jump up and down about Quebec, who have one outstanding surgeon, the waiting list is getting longer by the day. My besty just got on the waiting list, and was told three years minimum. A few provinces have potentially approved sending patients overseas, but as far as I know, it hasn't happened yet. Don't be too concerned about therapy requirements, all my letters took less than an afternoon to get (one hour psych eval. And a phone call to the therapist who gave me HRT go ahead).

[LeaP]

The wait may be long, true. But on the other hand, the weather provides free orchi's. You'll freeze your b***s off up there ...

[Frances]

You know, there is 4 feet of snow in Buffalo, New York, and almost none in Montreal.

[LeaP]

Yeah, but there's 4 feet of snow in Buffalo in July ...

Montreal isn't exactly warm!

Screen Shot 2014-11-18 at 10.15.23 PM.jpg

[Starling]

You have to dig down several thousand feet to find snow in LA.

That may not be exact.

Lallie

PS: I love snow and envy Canadians, eh?

[docrobbysherry]

-3? -4? In that in Canagrade or freezahite?

[Starling]

At that point, does it matter? We're all frozen on this bus.

Lallie

[Frances]

That's centigrade, and it's all relative. -4 °C will feel hot at the end of winter. We have the clothes for it.

[MaudeB]

LeaP,

You made my day ! I too live in Quebec and it's so true about the cold temperatures... Somehow, HRT made it worst. I began HRT last January and I can't remember a colder winter... I'm bracing for this one, I'm already freezing and it's only minus 6... Minus 30 is to come... Yuck !

[Cheryl123]

In case you are able to get a work visa to the US, Gender Confirmation Surgery is covered by in insurance companies in the following states and district: Oregon, California, Vermont, Colorado, and Connecticut, and the District of Columbia. In the US, insurance is most often provided by employers. Federal government workers also have GCS covered by Aetna and Kaiser insurance companies.

[Promethea]

Hahaha!

You all made me laugh, thank you.

Three years is the minimum I intend to stay in Quebec anyway (possibly five, and who knows if I don't end up settling down there). But by the time I finally go there, it may be longer.

Of course there are other aspects when deciding if I move somewhere else first.

Cheryl, I can get a work visa for the US through my brother who went there to get his masters degree and stayed, but the waiting list to have my request considered is 12 years long... I don't know of any other way that I can get one, I looked at the other criteria and they don't apply to me. The places I mentioned are the ones I know I can go to.

[Rachael HK]

Hong Kong has free SRS if you are approved and a Hong Kong resident...which takes 7 years of living here...

[MarieTS]

This is incredible--I had no idea! About a month ago I saw a doc in or., there was no mention of free ops. Perhaps because I am from out of state. Just the same, it sounds like insurance and some govermental agencies have begun to understand this is not merely an elective cosmetic procedure. Great news!

[AllieSF]

In case you are able to get a work visa to the US, Gender Confirmation Surgery is covered by in insurance companies in the following states and district: Oregon, California, Vermont, Colorado, and Connecticut, and the District of Columbia. In the US, insurance is most often provided by employers. Federal government workers also have GCS covered by Aetna and Kaiser insurance companies.

I think that you need to do further research regarding what is covered by insurance what is not. In general, the insurance will probably cover anything that their clients are willing to pay the premium for. However, they do package most of the policies based on coverage, deductibles, maximum out of pocket costs and maximum covered limits. An employer can negotiate what they want covered in addition to what may be mandatory requirements in each State. I am not sure that in the States mentioned, all insurance companies are required to offer the coverage mentioned, or just make that option available to those that want it. Is it for public entities or bot public and private? I live in California and I am not sure that it is mandatory that the insurance companies and the companies the contract with insurance companies to offer coverage for their employees for SRS procedures. Then you have Federal employees versus State government employees versus private company employees.

I do hope you are correct in your list of States and that the SRS coverage is mandatory for all insurance policies.

[Mary Lee]

Medicare pays for SRS. Face, boobs, and bottom as required on a case by case review. This is for those on SS Disability and regular retirement. This became effective this year. I wonder when the V.A. will offer the same.

[sandra-leigh]

In Canada, health care is Provincial rather than Federal, but whether certain things are required to be funded can be the subject of a complaint under the Canada Human Rights Act which is Federal.

I am not aware of any Canadian provinces or territories which do not pay for HRT, but I seem to recall that in several of the maritime provinces, the population is considered to be too small to have any doctors that can/will deal with HRT, requiring people to travel to other provinces. That has always seemed bogus to me, as only PEI (Prince Edward Island) has a population significantly smaller than the population of the city I live in, Winnipeg Manitoba, and Winnipeg has had line-ups for HRT services for years. I suspect some of those provinces are using population as an excuse to avoid services without outright saying No (which they would probably lose on in complaints.)

I should clarify: I have paid for my HRT medications, at the same rate as anyone else would pay who had been prescribed the same medication. Drug costs are kept lower by the provincial health care structure, but they are non-zero. When my ex moves out I will be eligible for a low-deductible provincial drug payment system (technically I am enrolled already, but my deductible is on the order of $7500 due to the assumption that my ex and I are sharing income. She is buying me a bunch of restaurant dinners, so I cannot say I am not benefiting at all from her still being around.)

Not all Canadian provinces fund SRS. Some provinces "freeze" SRS funding sometimes rather than outright terminating it: rights cases in Canada have generally allowed for governments to "reduce" funding in times of financial need, as long as the reductions are not blatantly for the purpose of discrimination.

The province I live in, Manitoba, does fund SRS.

I am not aware at present of any Canadian province that funds hair removal for MTF; nor do I know of any provinces that fund FFS.

I am also not aware at present of any Canadian province that funds breast augmentation. Manitoba does not fund either for transsexuals. If I understand my friends correctly, Manitoba does fund breast reduction for FTM.