NY Times Demands Insurance Cover 'Transgender Care' -- But They Don't Cover It

December 11th, 2015 7:53 AM

Wednesday’s New York Times carried the latest in a series of passionate editorials from the unbylined Editorial Board advocating for the gender-confused. (One said our restroom policies were segregationist, like "Jim Crow.")

The headline was “No Reason to Exclude Transgender Medical Care.”  Their star transgender was a man who calls himself “Our Lady J,” the star of the “acclaimed” musical show Gospel for the Godless, now a screenwriter for the Amazon TV series Transparent.

The champions of “science” at the Times insist that the growing of breasts on men and the amputation of breasts from women (or the amputation of the penis) is “medically necessary” treatment – like a heart or kidney transplant, perhaps.

To them, to oppose that political and not scientific verdict is horrendous: “ the medical community in the United States has resoundingly concluded that transgender care — which includes hormone replacement therapy, counseling and surgical procedures — is medically necessary and should be covered by insurance.”

The Times editorial also complained that not enough doctors perform “gender reassignment" surgery, just as they feel there are not enough abortionists, especially for the fully-grown fetus:

For decades, transition-related care was a fringe medical specialty. There was no consensus among doctors about the wisdom and safety of helping people transform their bodies. Over time, as more people transitioned, researchers recognized that people who got treatment were more likely to lead healthy, productive lives.

The American Medical Association, the largest group of doctors in the country, published a landmark resolution in 2008 that said barriers to transition-related care needed to be eliminated, citing “an established body of medical research that demonstrates the effectiveness and medical necessity” of transition-related care.

Then came their star:

When Our Lady J learned this fall that the Writers Guild of America health plan, which provides an insurance plan for writers in Hollywood, does not cover transition-related care, she was distraught. It reminded her of a darker time in her life, when she was suicidal and struggled with substance abuse, largely as a result of being unable to afford the medical care she needed.

James Taranto at The Wall Street Journal tweaked the Times: “We have an idea: Since she’s a writer, maybe the New York Times could give her a job so that its insurance would cover her transition. As it turns out, that won’t work.” Apparently, the Times editorialists can’t even persuade the people that sign their paychecks:

(The New York Times Company’s health insurance plans retain an exclusion for gender reassignment surgery; because they are self-funded, they are not required to follow New York State policy.)

Taranto cracked: “Sounds as if this shouldn’t have been an editorial but a memo to the human-resources department.”