Manchester aldermen say yes to sex change coverage
The vote was 10-2 in favor, with Alderman At Large
Voting in favor were Aldermen
Opposed were
Mayor
"I would veto the motion but you have the votes to override the veto, so I see no reason to continue the conversation," said Gatsas.
Aldermen took up the matter in response to a request from Human Resources Director
Aldermen were acting on a 3-2 vote by the
Hirschmann made a motion to send the matter back to committee for further study, requesting additional information from Anthem on whether establishing a rider program could be set up, so that only employees seeking the services would pay.
"I don't think it's fair to be passing costs along to all our employees," Hirschmann said.
Gile told city aldermen Anthem has announced it will remove the exclusion for gender identity disorders and sex change surgery from its coverage offerings -- on both fully and self-insured plans -- come
Section 1557 prohibits most insurers from discriminating on the basis of sex -- including gender identity -- when providing health coverage.
"I've never supported discriminating against anyone," said O'Neil. "I'm not going to start now."
"I am of the opinion it's not cosmetic," Long said. "One of the procedures takes up to a year to even be allowed to proceed."
Gile estimates the cost to add transgender services to the city health plan to be between
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