Any Highmark BCBS trans girls? Male or Female

[GirlieAmanda]

I have Highmark BCBS COBRA coverage through my old company. I recently changed my name and gender marker. I am pre operative. My HR person wondered what gender she should, or could, mark for me on the policy. I just remembered a tidbit that said healthcare companies may have a "transgender" designation instead of Male or Female. I may have dreamed this but I think I actually heard it. I wonder if anyone can shed light on this?

[Julia_in_Pa]

Amanda,

I had HighMark BCBS when I worked in Harrisburg, PA.
I had no issues due to PA allowing gender designators on driver's licenses without surgery.
Because of this all of my employers paperwork also reflected female thus not having issues when it came to the correct gender marker concerning insurance.

South Carolina currently does not have gender marker provisions for trans people concerning drivers licenses thus causing a mismatch when it comes to your insurance.
If your particular policy has exclusions for trans related services and treatment it could be constituted as fraud if you were unable to prove being a female via an official document like your drivers license.
Due to me having my driver's license designation as female I was able to bypass the transgender exclusion clause that was in my company's healthcare policy.
As of January 2011 being the date I left that company my particular policy had no transgender designation in place.


Julia

[GirlieAmanda]

Ok. Well I got my name change and license WITH that little F from good ole PA. Thats why I did it there. Now that I have that on my license, when and if I get a South Carolina license, it will say female on it. I suppose I will just tell them to mark "female".

Here is another question: If I have an F on my insurance, and I go to a place that pays for SRS surgery like Best Buy and a growing number of companies, then how do I explain that I need SRS surgery? Arrrg! such a paradox.

[Julia_in_Pa]

Amanda,

This is the updated information from the South Carolina DMV concerning required documentation for a drivers license.

You need either a birth certificate or a valid passport in order to prove identity.

Here's the rub; Your birth certificate will say male with your drivers license stating female.
Your birth certificate will override your drivers license concerning proof of gender.

Here's how to get around it.

They also say in lieu of a birth certificate you can provide a valid U.S. passport as proof of identity.

The federal government will allow gender id change on your passport without having SRS.

Once you have both your valid PA drivers license with the gender marker of female along with your valid U.S. passport also reflecting the gender marker of female you now possess the required documentation for South Carolina to issue you a drivers license with a female gender marker.

You must get the passport Amanda, once you have that your golden.


Julia


REQUIREMENTS IN THE S. C. DRIVER’S MANUAL MAY BE OUTDATED. PLEASE USE THIS CHECKLIST AS A REFERENCE.

The following requirements are for applicants applying for a first time S.C. Driver’s License, Beginner’s Permit, or Identification Card, or for applicants previously licensed in S.C. who are returning after having been licensed in another state.

 ALL APPLICANTS MUST PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS: Documents not in English must be translated by a qualified translator. The translator must have a letter of verification from their employer on letterhead qualifying them as a translator. The translation must be made on DMV Form 4030 Translation Document.

• Proof of U.S. Citizenship/Proof of Identity (see specific requirements below).
• Proof of Social Security Number.
• Proof of S.C. Residency.
• Liability insurance information from company licensed to do business in S.C. (not required for Beginner’s Permit or Identification Card)

 ALL APPLICANTS FOR DRIVER’S LICENSE MUST PROVIDE AUTOMOBILE LIABILITY INSURANCE INFORMATION

 Proof of U.S. Citizenship/Proof of Identity and Date of Birth - Applicants must provide one of the following:

• Birth Certificate with birth/file number and registrar’s signature issued by the county or Bureau of Vital Statistics.
• Birth Certificate from U.S. Territory (Must be translated if not in English) - Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands and U.S. Samoa.
• Delayed birth certificate – If birth certificate is not issued at time of birth, customer can apply for birth certificate from Bureau of Vital Statistics.
• Current U.S. Passport or U.S. Passport that has not been expired more than 10 years.
• Current U.S. Passport Card
• Certificate of Naturalization -- USCIS Form (N-550 or N-570).
• U.S. government issued Consular Report of Birth Abroad.
• Certificate of Citizenship (N-560 or N-561).

NOTE: If the applicant’s birth certificate shows that s/he was not born in the United States, the applicant must ALSO provide an additional document from the above list proving U.S. citizenship.

NOTE: If name has changed since birth, applicant must present all legal documents (i.e., adoption records, marriage certificate or license issued by state/county records office, certificate of naturalization, and court ordered name change) supporting all name changes from the name which appears on the birth certificate or proof of identity to the present.

 Proof of Social Security Number (SSN)-Applicants must provide one of the following (All documents must show social security number):

• Social Security Card.
• SSA-1099 - “Survivor Benefit Form”.
• U.S. Military Photo ID Card when SSN is present on card (active, retired or reservist military status DOD, ID, DD-214).
• Current military dependent I.D. card.
• U.S. Uniform Services Identification and Privilege Card (DD 1173) must include photograph.
• Letter from Social Security Administration (requires online verification)
• Medicare letter from Social Security Administration (requires online verification).
• Medicare Card (requires online verification).
• Payroll Stub must include employer’s name and applicant’s name (requires online verification).
• W-2 Form must include employer’s name, address, and applicant’s name (requires online verification).

[Aprilrain]

Here is another question: If I have an F on my insurance, and I go to a place that pays for SRS surgery like Best Buy and a growing number of companies, then how do I explain that I need SRS surgery? Arrrg! such a paradox.

You just go have the surgery and they bill insurance. HOWEVER! do you really think a Dr is going to preform that surgery without the full payment up front? Perhaps it needs to be billed to insurance after the fact and then you would be reimbursed? Sounds ify to me. I'm thinking the F on your documentation is going to be the least of your worries with that one.

[GirlieAmanda]

Yeah I would not want to be stuck with a huge bill for 20K after their insurance denies it. I guess we will see. All I know is the list of companies that pay for SRS is growing exponentially every year. Some day it will be commonplace I hope, like my allergy polyp/ deviated septum surgery or my thallium stress test was paid for. Those were both in the thousands to perform.