California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is taking steps to ensure transgender youth are not denied access to medical care by their insurance company.
Lara announced Wednesday, December 30, that he had directed the Department of Insurance to issue a General Counsel Opinion Letter clarifying that under existing California law, health insurance companies may not deny coverage for male chest reconstruction surgery for female-to-male patients undergoing gender-affirming care for gender dysphoria based solely on a patient's age.
The letter, signed by General Counsel & Deputy Commissioner Kenneth B. Schnoll, was in response to an inquiry the department had received from a transgender agency in San Diego.