Obama administration moves ahead to approve sex change coverage for Medicare patients

Taxpayers may be flipping the bill for seniors to get sex-change operations as the  Departmental Appeals Board  of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services lifted a three-decade-old ban on using Medicare funds for transsexual surgeries.

photo Marcus Werthmann

The decision means the government considers the surgeries medically necessary and effective treatment for some individuals who do not identify with their biological sex. The decision The gives authority to 15 regional contractors who administer the Medicare program to decide whether sex-change surgeries will be covered in their territories.

“The national policy barring Medicare from covering gender transition surgery has been invalidated,” said Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services spokesman Aaron Albright in an e-mail to CNN.

“As with all such determinations, CMS will carry out this independent board’s ruling through Medicare Administrative Contractors, who manage Medicare claims payment systems. These contractors may cover this care case-by-case or under a local coverage determination based on clinical evidence to determine medical appropriateness,” added Albright, whose agency administers Medicare and Medicaid.