316— Transgender healthcare policy in the United States

My research question is how does American social welfare policy address transgender individuals in healthcare? This is an important issue because social welfare policies that focus on healthcare in America tend not to include transgender individuals at all or specific transgender medical procedures, like hormone-replacement therapy or sex reassignment surgery (SRS). I will look at access to healthcare for transgender patients, specifically regarding access to hormone therapy, mental health services, and SRS. For example, Medicare eliminated restrictions for SRS for transgender individuals; however, approval of this treatment is determined on a case-by-case basis. For my research, I will look at primarily national policies, like Medicare and Medicaid, but I will also focus on specific policies in New York. I will also look at how current policies can be changed to address the issue of transgender access to healthcare. For example, I will address the Affordable Care Act and President Biden’s campaign promise to provide healthcare to all Americans regardless of sexual orientation and gender expression. I will look at how the Affordable Care Act can be more accessible to transgender individuals and their specific medical needs.