Ask a trans person!

[Blade]

I have a question for those who have had top surgery. How did you pay for your surgery?

It has been suggested that I have a reduction for health reasons and my insurance would pay for it. As tempting as that sounds they wouldn't be gone they'd still be there just much smaller.

So how did you pay for your surgery?

[Linus]

Originally Posted by Blade

I have a question for those who have had top surgery. How did you pay for your surgery?

It has been suggested that I have a reduction for health reasons and my insurance would pay for it. As tempting as that sounds they wouldn't be gone they'd still be there just much smaller.

So how did you pay for your surgery?

Actually that is one way to do it. The Insurance Company cannot verify how the procedure is done (HIPPA violation), just that the surgeon has done it. I will be applying to see if my insurance will cover mine (Dr. V. has said that I'm large enough and with the back issues I've had to potentially qualify this way).

That said, I still have to cover it on my own and apply for insurance coverage. For me, I had some money saved to pay for taxes I thought I'd pay but turned out I didn't need to and that I actually got a refund. The combination of the two was enough to cover the cost of surgery.

There are some grants you can get. Look for the Jim Collins Foundation. They were created to cover surgery costs specifically for trans individuals in need.

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Linus

Actually that is one way to do it. The Insurance Company cannot verify how the procedure is done (HIPPA violation), just that the surgeon has done it. I will be applying to see if my insurance will cover mine (Dr. V. has said that I'm large enough and with the back issues I've had to potentially qualify this way).

That said, I still have to cover it on my own and apply for insurance coverage. For me, I had some money saved to pay for taxes I thought I'd pay but turned out I didn't need to and that I actually got a refund. The combination of the two was enough to cover the cost of surgery.

There are some grants you can get. Look for the Jim Collins Foundation. They were created to cover surgery costs specifically for trans individuals in need.

Hey, Linus.

I thought you had Aetna? Do they no longer pay for male chest reconstruction/gender identity medical services?

[Linus]

Originally Posted by DapperButch

Hey, Linus.

I thought you had Aetna? Do they no longer pay for male chest reconstruction/gender identity medical services?

They do. I have to prove all that. Dr. V indicated that I could probably apply under either. The downside is that I have a $5K+ deductible so.. I'm still paying for the majority of it :P

[DapperButch]

Originally Posted by Linus

They do. I have to prove all that. Dr. V indicated that I could probably apply under either. The downside is that I have a $5K+ deductible so.. I'm still paying for the majority of it :P

5K? Holy Crap! That stinks! Sorry, man.

[The Oopster]

Originally Posted by Linus

They do. I have to prove all that. Dr. V indicated that I could probably apply under either. The downside is that I have a $5K+ deductible so.. I'm still paying for the majority of it :P

Once you hit that deductible make sure to get any and all medical stuff needed done before years end!

[The Oopster]

Originally Posted by Blade

I have a question for those who have had top surgery. How did you pay for your surgery?

It has been suggested that I have a reduction for health reasons and my insurance would pay for it. As tempting as that sounds they wouldn't be gone they'd still be there just much smaller.

So how did you pay for your surgery?

I had contemplated this and in fact my insurance at the time denied the claim despite all my back problems. They said I had too many and that it wouldn't help! Wrong ... but I am glad they didn't at the time because I wouldn't have been happy with just a reduction and couldn't imagine doing surgery twice. I'm gettin older and the healing time and process more lengthy each time.

I ended up getting a car accident settlement that was enough to pay for my surgery and time off work since i had a job without vacation or sick time.

Don't recommend that route but my experience was everything just happened when it needed to happen. It Fell into place at the time that my sanity was wearing out and something needed to be done. Got the money and had surgery two weeks later because it was the slow period of work and if I was going to miss that was the time to be off.

[The Oopster]

Originally Posted by Linus

Welp. As I trek towards surgery date, I've done a few things. One of the first was get this (La-Z-Boy Roland La-Z-Time Reclining Chair with special coating in case of puppeh disasters):



Big enough for me, the two pugs and, if they are eager, our soon-to-have two new kitties.

I also moved my "surgery money" over to one of my credit cards so I can get air mile points for paying for the surgery. (win-win for me, IMO).

Congrats on the chair ... you're going to love it! I went all out and got leather myself and I've had it 6 years and it has worn really well only thing is the dog hair that gets caught into the crevis's. My ex has one that he's had for 15 years and we got it use ... it was atleast 10 years at that time. His isn't as nice but still holding it's own

[Blade]

Originally Posted by The Oopster

Once you hit that deductible make sure to get any and all medical stuff needed done before years end!

Yes for sure, actually my friend that had the reduction done did exactly that. Including having a baby at the end of that year.......can you imagine having a baby for free. That has to be about as awesome as a trans guy having top surgery

[Linus]

FYI.. interesting project: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...ss-transgender

[wolfbittenpoet]

Thanks for the link Linus. The problem is only getting worse. Hopefully with visibility we can make it better.

[Linus]

wolfbittenpoet, one can hope. I knew there were a lot of transkids in NYC when I lived there but didn't realize it was 35% of the homeless teen population! It's so high and so frustrating.

When I was in group, I remember some of those kids coming and most came because parents had kicked them out, disowned them, beat them and so on. I remember hearing from K about the defunding of one of the only trans homeless shelters by the State gov't (I think, don't quote me on that). These kids need that kind of place to survive period. It's more than belong, it's pure survival.

I so want to win a lottery and provide a place or two or more for trans kids at various large cities in Canada and the US.

[Linus]

http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org/..._2009Print.pdf

A report on the State of Transgender Individuals in California (2009). What's interesting is some of the breakdowns. What did surprise me was that the poverty level was listed as about $10K (!! I had to check to see if I was losing it: http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/11poverty.shtml ). Canada's poverty rate is over $20K.

Anyways, it's interesting to see the breakdown of FTMs vs. MTFs.

[theoddz]

Originally Posted by Blade

I have a question for those who have had top surgery. How did you pay for your surgery?

It has been suggested that I have a reduction for health reasons and my insurance would pay for it. As tempting as that sounds they wouldn't be gone they'd still be there just much smaller.

So how did you pay for your surgery?

I'm going to answer your question and also another common question that's asked, simply so others will know what this takes, moneywise, to do, since this procedure is seldom covered by insurance at all.

I paid entirely out of my own pocket. Dr. V's fee, about $7750, included everything (he has his own accredited surgical center) except the lab pathology, which ran about $450. Surprisingly, my health insurance (FEHB) paid for that, minus a $38 deductible, which I paid.

I had to travel to Newport Beach, California, from here in Las Vegas, so by the time I added up the travel expenses (for my girlfriend and me), hotel, meals, etc., the total cost was right under $10K.

~Theo~

[Thinker]

Originally Posted by Blade

I have a question for those who have had top surgery. How did you pay for your surgery?

It has been suggested that I have a reduction for health reasons and my insurance would pay for it. As tempting as that sounds they wouldn't be gone they'd still be there just much smaller.

So how did you pay for your surgery?

I paid all medical and associated fees out of pocket. I went on a spending fast for about a year and socked the money away.

I was very fortunate to have a career at the time that allowed me to accrue sick and personal leave to the extent that my entire recovery time was covered.

[Linus]

So.. I just got a note from Dr. V's office. And apparently Aetna pre-approved everything except for $4500 (likely the deductible). So I end up paying a total of $5K (includes the deposit) for the surgery.

[atomiczombie]

Originally Posted by Linus

So.. I just got a note from Dr. V's office. And apparently Aetna pre-approved everything except for $4500 (likely the deductible). So I end up paying a total of $5K (includes the deposit) for the surgery.

Awesome Linus! I am so glad for you.

[The Oopster]

Originally Posted by Linus

So.. I just got a note from Dr. V's office. And apparently Aetna pre-approved everything except for $4500 (likely the deductible). So I end up paying a total of $5K (includes the deposit) for the surgery.

That is cool

[Quintease]

Just putting this here in case anyone is interested http://magazine.goodvibes.com/2011/0...nder-language/

[atomiczombie]

Hey guys, do any of you pack while you swim? If so how do you manage that, what kind of swim trunks do you use, what type of packer, how do you attach your packer to your trunks? I know a lot of soft packers are porous, so how does that work when they get wet? Anyone who can shed a little light on this, I would appreciate some input. Thanks!

Drew