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Evaluation of Transsexual Surgery

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The Evaluation of Transsexual Surgery was a report published by the National Center for Health Care Technology (NCHCT) under the United States Department of Health and Human Services in 1981. The report drew on a paper from Janice Raymond on the "social and ethical aspects of transsexual surgery" which the NCHCT had commissioned from her in 1980. The report concluded, based on Raymond's work, that transgender surgeries were "experimental" and "controversial" and recommended they not be covered by public insurance. This was formalized in a National Coverage Determination (NCD) banning it for Medicaid in 1989, which remained in force until 2014. The report and exclusion of trans healthcare that resulted from it are thought to have shortened the lifespans of transgender people in the United States.

Background

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The National Center for Health Care Technology was created under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by Congress's passage of Public Law 95-623 in 1978 with a 3 year mandate.[1]

In 1979, Janice Raymond published The Transsexual Empire, which argued that "all transsexuals rape women's bodies by reducing the real female form to an artifact, appropriating the body for themselves".[2][3]

Prior to 1981, the Us Department of Health and Human Services considered transition related healthcare to be medically necessary.[4][5] Several court cases prior to 1981 deemed state efforts to exclude transgender healthcare from Medicaid coverage to be unconstitutional discrimination.[6]

Report

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In 1980, Raymond was contracted by the congressionally mandated NCHCT to research the ethics of transgender surgery, released in a report titled Technology on the Social and Ethical Aspects of Transsexual Surgery.[5][7][8] Raymond's report said medical interventions are an ethical issues raising "questions of bodily mutilation" under the "do no harm" principle and called for "the elimination of transsexualism".[5][7] It stated:

Over and above the medical and scientific issues, it would also appear that transsexual surgery is controversial in our society. For example. Thomas Szasz has asked whether an old person who desires to be young suffers from the "disease" of being a "transchronological" or does the poor person who wants to be rich suffer from the "disease" of being a "transeconomical?" (Szasz 1979). Some have held that it would be preferable to modify society's sex role expectations of men and women than to modify either the body or the mind of individuals to fit those sex expectations.[9]

The National Center for Health Care Technology, operating under the United States Department of Health and Human Services, issued the Evaluation of Transsexual Surgery in 1981.[2][4] The report stated the surgeries were "controversial" and "experimental" and that there is a "lack of well controlled, long-term studies of the safety and effectiveness of the surgical prodecudres" and "a high rate of serious complications".[10] Raymond's report and a review of the Transsexual Empire were the only sources cited for the claim transgender surgeries were "controversial".[11] It recommended that health care related to "sex changes" not be covered by public health insurance.[8]

In 1989 the Health Care Financing Administration formalized this as a National Coverage Determination (NCD), 140.3, Transsexual Surgery that made transsexual surgery ineligible from public insurance on the basis of the NCTCH report.[2][4][8][12] The ACLU submitted letters and affidavits challenging the NCD.[13] The NCD stated:

Transsexual surgery for sex reassignment of transsexuals is controversial. Because of the lack of well controlled, long-term studies of the safety and effectiveness of the surgical procedures and attendant therapies for transsexualism, the treatment is considered experimental. Moreover, there is a high rate of serious complications for these surgical procedures. For these reasons, transsexual surgery is not covered.[13]

Legacy

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Exclusion in public and private healthcare became the standard for decades and a lack of funding for clinical care and research led to the closing of transgender care programs.[4][5] Many private insurers adopted trans exclusionary causes that denied based on the NCD.[14] The report and legal exclusion of trans healthcare from public insurance is thought to have led to shortened life spans among transgender people.[2][15][16][3][14]

Followed decisions in five states and Washington D.C. concluding that exclusions of transgender healthcare by private insurance plans were discriminatory,[17] and statements from the American Medical Association and American Psychological Association,[12] the NCD decision was reversed until 2014.[4][2][13]

In 2013, the Obama administration and HHS announced plans to allow Medicare coverage of transgender surgery and requested public input. On the same day the request was made, the HHS withdrew it, stating the independent Department Appeals Board would review it instead. This was thought to be due to vocal opposition from conservative critics.[18][19] The American Civil Liberties Union, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), and the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) filed the appeal on behalf of an aggrieved party, who had been denied coverage by Medicare for her surgery.[20][12] Amicus Briefs were submitted by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH), the Human Rights Campaign, the National Center for Transgender Equality, and the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) did not defend the challenged NCD and shifted the decision to the Local Coverage Determinations due to evidence presented that surgeries were safe, effective, and could no longer be considered experimental.[21]

Further reading

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  • Riedel, Samantha (2019-10-17). "How Sandy Stone "Struck Back" Against Transmisogyny". Them. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  • Williams, Cristan (2014-09-18). "Fact Checking Janice Raymond: The NCHCT Report". The Trans Advocate. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  • "HEALTH CARE AND THE TRANSSEXUAL, PART I". TV-TS Tapestry. No. 49. 1986. pp. 44–48.

References

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  1. ^ Wong, Jennifer (2014). "The History of Technology Assessment and Comparative Effectiveness Research for Drugs and Medical Devices and the Role of the Federal Government". Biotechnology Law Report. 33 (6): 221–248. doi:10.1089/blr.2014.9967. ISSN 0730-031X. PMC 4270161. PMID 25538377.
  2. ^ a b c d e Awkward-Rich, Cameron (2017). "Trans, Feminism: Or, Reading like a Depressed Transsexual". Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society. 42 (4): 819–841. doi:10.1086/690914. ISSN 0097-9740.
  3. ^ a b Rose, Katrina C. (2002–2003). "Three Names in Ohio: In re Bicknell, In re Maloney and Hope for Recognition that the Gay-Transgender Twain Has Met". Thomas Jefferson Law Review. 25: 89.
  4. ^ a b c d e Byne, William; Karasic, Dan H.; Coleman, Eli; Eyler, A. Evan; Kidd, Jeremy D.; Meyer-Bahlburg, Heino F.L.; Pleak, Richard R.; Pula, Jack (2018). "Gender Dysphoria in Adults: An Overview and Primer for Psychiatrists". Transgender Health. 3 (1): 57–A3. doi:10.1089/trgh.2017.0053. ISSN 2380-193X. PMC 5944396. PMID 29756044.
  5. ^ a b c d McKinnon, Rachel (2018). "The Epistemology of Propaganda". Philosophy and Phenomenological Research. 96 (2): 483–489. doi:10.1111/phpr.12429. ISSN 0031-8205.
  6. ^ Bryant, Alyssa; Young, Ezra (2018). "Transgender Politics: The Civil Rights of Transgender Persons". In Carlozzi, Alfred Frank; Choate, Kurt T. (eds.). Transgender and gender diverse persons: a handbook for service providers, educators, and families. New York London: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-351-20711-9.
  7. ^ a b Ethan Coston, B. (2023). "Looking Back: Intimate Partner Violence in Transgender Populations". American Journal of Public Health. 113 (5): 474–476. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2023.307262. ISSN 0090-0036. PMC 10088961. PMID 36926968.
  8. ^ a b c Williams, Cristan (2021). "TERFs". The SAGE encyclopedia of trans studies. London Los Angeles: SAGE Reference. pp. 822–825. ISBN 978-1-5443-9381-0.
  9. ^ Weekley, David Ellias (2017). Retreating Forward: A Spiritual Practice with Transgender Persons.
  10. ^ Cook-Daniels, Loree (2018). "Transgender Older People: At sea far from the sexual rights shore". In Barrett, Catherine; Hinchliff, Sharron (eds.). Addressing the sexual rights of older people: theory, policy and practice. London New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-1-315-64175-1.
  11. ^ Clarkson, Nicholas L. (2020). "Terrorizing Transness: Necropolitical Nationalism". Feminist Formations. 32 (2): 163–182. doi:10.1353/ff.2020.0029. ISSN 2151-7371.
  12. ^ a b c Molloy, Parker Marie (December 13, 2013). "HHS to Reevaluate Ban on Gender-Confirming Surgeries". Retrieved 2024-09-12.
  13. ^ a b c NCD 140.3, Transsexual Surgery - Docket No. A-13-87 - Decision No. 2576 (PDF) (Report). Department of Health and Human Services, DEPARTMENTAL APPEALS BOARD, Appellate Division. May 30, 2014.
  14. ^ a b Ansara, Y Gavriel; Hegarty, Peter (2013). "Misgendering in English language contexts: Applying non-cisgenderist methods to feminist research". International Journal of Multiple Research Approaches. 7 (2): 160–177. doi:10.5172/mra.2013.7.2.160. ISSN 1834-0806.
  15. ^ Fae, Jane (2018). Transition denied: confronting the crisis in trans healthcare. London; Philadelphia: Jessica Kingsley Publishers. ISBN 978-1-78450-778-7.
  16. ^ Awkward-Rich, Cameron (2022-08-08). The Terrible We: Thinking with Trans Maladjustment. Duke University Press. doi:10.1215/9781478023302. ISBN 978-1-4780-2330-2.
  17. ^ Redcay, Alex; Bergquist, Kathleen; Luquet, Wade (2021-08-18). "On the Basis of Gender: A Medical-Legal Review of Barriers to Healthcare for Transgender and Gender-Expansive Patients". Social Work in Public Health. 36 (6): 615–627. doi:10.1080/19371918.2021.1942378. ISSN 1937-1918. PMID 34340636.
  18. ^ Kurzweil, Rachel (2014-09-01). ""Justice is What Love Looks Like in Public": How the Affordable Care Act Falls Short on Transgender Health Care Access". Washington and Lee Journal of Civil Rights and Social Justice. 21 (1): 196. ISSN 1535-0843. Retrieved 2024-09-12.
  19. ^ Brydum, Sunnivie (April 1, 2013). "Medicare Won't Yet Decide Whether to Cover Gender Reassignment Surgery". Retrieved 2024-09-12.
  20. ^ Grieser, Peter (2018). "Administrative Contexts of Access to Gender-Confirmation Surgery". Southern California Review of Law and Social Justice. 27: 165.
  21. ^ Green, Jamison (2014). "Transsexual Surgery May Be Covered By Medicare". LGBT Health. 1 (4): 256–258. doi:10.1089/lgbt.2014.0076. ISSN 2325-8292. PMID 26789853.
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