Protesters converge on the Capitol Building in Washington D.C. after then-President Donald Trump instituted a ban on transgender persons serving in the military, which has since been repealed. (Photo: Ted Eytan)
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Dennis McDonough announced on Saturday that the VA has begun the process for changing its health care policy coverage to include transgender confirmation surgery.
The announcement was made at a Pride event in Orlando, with Secretary McDonough first noting that starting the process was “the right thing to do,” but only one of many steps to be made that will attempt to improve treatment of LGBTQ+ service members. However, it should also be noted that the federal review process for changing VA health coverage often ranges between months and years, and it may be some time before transgender confirmation surgery is officially covered and/or offered by VA health care systems around the country, including California.
In the meantime, Secretary McDonough notes that the VA is working to “develop capacity to meet the surgical needs” of transgender veterans. It remains unclear whether the VA will only cover the costs of the involved procedures or offer them at its health care facilities.
The VA Is Working to Improve Care for LGBTQ+ Veterans
VA patient care for LGBTQ+ veterans has improved dramatically in recent years and improving the prospects of LGBTQ+ veterans has been a primary goal of the current administration.
An LGBTQ+ veteran care coordinator is now stationed at every VA facility in the United States as part of an ongoing effort to break down barriers to mental and physical health care. However, in the aforementioned announcement, Secretary McDonough referenced that there are still higher rates of mental illness and suicide among LGBTQ+ veterans that must be addressed.
According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, “it’s estimated that over 134,000 American veterans are transgender, and over 15,000 trans people are serving in [the] military today.” The organization says many of these veterans still face discrimination, record keeping obstacles, and barriers—namely discriminatory practices—to VA medical care or coverage.
Author: Christian Southards
Coming from a family with a proud military background and wanting to contribute his writing skills to a worthy cause, Christian began writing for the California American Legion in August of 2020. His father is a 25-year Army Veteran and his grandfather served in the Navy during Vietnam.
