KHN Video: Transgender Surgery Covered By Insurance

Devin Payne, a resident of Palm Springs, says she is finally comfortable in her own skin. Born male, she says she always knew she was a woman. After being uninsured, she signed up for a Covered California plan under the health law. She was widowed in 2013. In May, the 43-year-old single parent underwent gender reassignment surgery and is looking forward to being reimbursed by her insurance company. In California, under a provision of the ACA, insurers are prohibited from denying coverage to people based on pre-existing conditions. For transgendered people like Devin, this means hormone treatment and related care will be covered.

Video by Heidi de Marco/KHN

�鶹Ů�� Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at �鶹Ů��—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about .

<h2>KHN Video: Transgender Surgery Covered By Insurance</h2>
<div>	<span class="byline">Heidi de Marco, �鶹Ů�� Health News</span>
		<time class="posted-on" datetime="2014-08-25T14:46:00-04:00">
			August 25, 2014		</time>
		</div>
<p></p><p>Devin Payne, a resident of Palm Springs, says she is finally comfortable in her own skin. Born male, she says she always knew she was a woman. After being uninsured, she signed up for a Covered California plan under the health law. She was widowed in 2013. In May, the 43-year-old single parent underwent gender reassignment surgery and is looking forward to being reimbursed by her insurance company.  In California, under a provision of the ACA, insurers are prohibited from denying coverage to people based on pre-existing conditions. For transgendered people like Devin, this means hormone treatment and related care will be covered.</p><p><em>Video by Heidi de Marco/KHN </em></p><ul><li><a href="/news/transgender-surgery-covered-by-insurance/?share=x">				Share on X (Opens in new window)				X			</a></li><li><a href="/news/transgender-surgery-covered-by-insurance/?share=facebook">				Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)				Facebook			</a></li><li><a href="/news/transgender-surgery-covered-by-insurance/?share=linkedin">				Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)				LinkedIn			</a></li><li><a href="mailto:?subject=%5BShared%20Post%5D%20KHN%20Video%3A%20Transgender%20Surgery%20Covered%20By%20Insurance&body=https%3A%2F%2Fkffhealthnews.org%2FMzI4OTQz&share=email">				Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)				Email			</a></li><li><a href="/news/transgender-surgery-covered-by-insurance/">				Print (Opens in new window)				Print			</a></li><li>				<a href="/news/transgender-surgery-covered-by-insurance/view/republish/">					Republish This Story				</a>			</li></ul><em><a href="/about-us">�鶹Ů�� Health News</a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at �鶹Ů��—an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about .</em><p><a href="/morning-briefing/">Subscribe</a> to �鶹Ů�� Health News' free Morning Briefing.</p><p>This <a target="_blank" href="/news/transgender-surgery-covered-by-insurance/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="">�鶹Ů�� Health News</a> and is republished here under a <a target="_blank" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src="/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/kffhealthnews-icon.png?w=150" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"></p>
<img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="/?republication-pixel=true&post=328943&amp;ga4=G-J74WWTKFM0" style="width:1px;height:1px;">

Some elements may be removed from this article due to republishing restrictions. If you have questions about available photos or other content, please contact NewsWeb@kff.org.

�鶹Ů��

More From �鶹Ů�� Health News