New York State just did an awesome thing — a really awesome, totally progressive thing. Governor Cuomo announced that gender reassignment surgery has to be covered by health insurance throughout the entire state.

We recently got wind of this stellar news last week when @NYTimesHealth tweeted the following:

Insurers in New York Must Cover Gender Reassignment Surgery, Cuomo Says http://nyti.ms/1skxKUG

According to Kaiser Health News, the announcement was made last week via letter from Governor Cuomo to insurance agencies. The governor came to this conclusion because, “state law requires insurance coverage for the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders.” This covers people who have a “mismatch between their birth sex and their internal sense of gender.”

So, insurance coverage would naturally cover treatment for this condition, which is commonly called gender dysphoria.

Along with the surgery, health insurance companies also must cover hormone treatment, as well as the preparation it takes a person who is planning to have the surgery. It also must take into account recovery time.

New York is now one of about a handful of other states that have made similar rulings. These other states include California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, Vermont, and also Washington, D.C., reports Medical Daily. The hope is that this type of coverage will soon become the norm and other states will follow in these progressive states’ footsteps. If a health insurance plan doesn’t cover this type of surgery, a person typically has to raise their own money, as the surgeries (and prep, recovery) are quite expensive.

Also of note: The NY Daily News reports that the number of companies that cover gender reassignment surgery has “more than doubled in the past year.”

Let’s hope these positive trends continue.

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Image: Ted Eytan

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