Susan, Ben, and all,
I understand that the University of California system offers to its employees
a Prudential "Hi-Op" (High Option) plan which will cover genital srs. I also
understand that at least some, perhaps all, U.C.s offer legal insurance to
employees; one friend used this to help with some legal matters related to
her mtf transition.
Currently, the BCBS PPOs available through the California State University
system specifically exclude "transsexual surgery," but they do not exclude
hormones; that is, they neither specifically exclude hormones nor does the
vague wording of the rest of the "transsexual surgery" exclusion imply that
hormones are excluded (since, under CA law, vagueness and ambiguity are to be
interpreted in favor of the claimant). BCBS has never denied nor challenged
my testosterone Rx coverage, so I've never had to establish this in
arbitration or court.
Jacob Hale
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