Major medical associations recognize that access to gender-affirming care, also known as transition-related care, is medically necessary for transgender people, whose mental and physical health may be harmed if they are barred from getting it. Yet conservative politicians across the country have moved to restrict access to gender-affirming care. Our recent investigation found that state and local governments that deny this care to their employees are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on lawyers to defend their policies in discrimination lawsuits.
We are interested in talking to transgender individuals who have faced barriers when seeking quality gender-affirming care; we want to hear about obstacles you’ve faced in any part of the process, from struggling to find providers to limitations in insurance coverage. Documents, such as health bills or insurance denial letters, are always welcome and helpful for our investigative reporting process.
Our team may not be able to respond to everyone personally, but we will read everything you submit. We understand that sharing personal information may feel risky, and we will not publish any of it without your permission. We appreciate you sharing your story and we take your privacy seriously. We are gathering these stories for the purposes of our reporting, and will contact you if we wish to publish any part of your story.
This content originally appeared on Articles and Investigations - ProPublica and was authored by by Aliyya Swaby, Lucas Waldron and Ash Ngu.