Department of Veterans Affairs leaders said Monday that they will phase out coverage of gender transition care for veterans, rescinding a 2018 policy to comply with an executive order President Donald Trump signed that said sex is not changeable.
Trans veterans who already receive hormone therapy through VA will continue to have it covered, as will new veterans who received that care while in the military, but other veterans can no longer initiate care for gender dysphoria, according to the new policy. The department has never covered gender transition surgeries.
VA Secretary Douglas A. Collins said in a statement that the department “should not be focused on helping Veterans attempt to change their sex.”
“All eligible Veterans — including trans-identified Veterans — will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they’ve earned under the law,” Collins said. “But if Veterans want to attempt to change their sex, they can do so on their own dime.”
VA has covered hormone and voice therapies for transgender veterans for more than a decade, but a department news release said it has not kept “consistent and reliable records” tracking how much the benefit costs, nor how many veterans have accessed it.
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Department estimates indicate that fewer than one-tenth of 1 percent of the 9.1 million veterans enrolled in VA health care identify as trans.
Collins said VA will redirect any savings toward paralyzed veterans and amputees. A spokesman for the department declined to respond to questions from The Washington Post about how they would calculate those savings.
Trans veterans who already receive hormone therapy through VA will continue to have it covered, as will new veterans who received that care while in the military, but other veterans can no longer initiate care for gender dysphoria, according to the new policy. The department has never covered gender transition surgeries.
VA Secretary Douglas A. Collins said in a statement that the department “should not be focused on helping Veterans attempt to change their sex.”
“All eligible Veterans — including trans-identified Veterans — will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they’ve earned under the law,” Collins said. “But if Veterans want to attempt to change their sex, they can do so on their own dime.”
VA has covered hormone and voice therapies for transgender veterans for more than a decade, but a department news release said it has not kept “consistent and reliable records” tracking how much the benefit costs, nor how many veterans have accessed it.
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Department estimates indicate that fewer than one-tenth of 1 percent of the 9.1 million veterans enrolled in VA health care identify as trans.
Collins said VA will redirect any savings toward paralyzed veterans and amputees. A spokesman for the department declined to respond to questions from The Washington Post about how they would calculate those savings.
