Millions of veterans in the United States with serious health problems who have to wait a long time to get care from the VA, yet a transgender veterans group is complaining the VA has delayed transgender surgeries.
How many times does a veteran in serious need have to wait while someone confused over who they are gets surgery — paid by American taxpayers?
Transgender Veterans Group Threatens VA with Lawsuit over Yearslong Delay in Covering Surgeries (Military.com, 20 NOV 23)
An advocacy group for transgender veterans is threatening to sue the Department of Veterans Affairs over its delay in offering gender-affirming surgery.
In a letter Monday to the VA’s top lawyer, lawyers for the Transgender American Veterans Association, or TAVA, said not providing the surgeries has “increased risk of physical harm, psychological distress and suicide” for transgender veterans.
“VA has placed TAVA and its members in an unstable state of limbo, wherein they are repeatedly assured by the secretary that VA-provided [gender-affirmation surgery] will be available, but are given no indication of when nor which procedures will be covered,” lawyers from the Veterans Legal Services Clinic at Yale Law School, which is representing TAVA, wrote in the letter.
The letter says transgender veterans have delayed medically necessary surgeries due to VA Secretary Denis McDonough’s promises with the expectation they could use VA health care instead of expensive private treatments. . . .
. . . .McDonough announced in June 2021 that the department would cover gender-affirmation surgeries for transgender veterans, part of a flurry of moves in the early days of the Biden administration to signal support for LGBTQ+ Americans. His announcement kicked off a formal rulemaking process, a sometimes lengthy undertaking for changing federal regulations that the department typically uses for updates in medical coverage. . . . (read more)
Army Soldier Tells World the Military Paid for His Transgender Surgery
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