Republican Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo signed a law on Monday that requires insurance companies to cover sex-change procedures for all ages, including minors.
The bill, SB 163, requires health insurance providers to cover “medically necessary treatment of conditions relating to gender dysphoria and gender incongruence,” including “surgical intervention” or any other necessary treatment.
“Necessary treatment” is defined as those outlined in the World Professional Association for Transgender Health Standards of Care, a leading proponent of providing hormones, puberty blockers and surgery to children experiencing gender dysphoria.
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Hundreds of medical professionals have denounced the group. It is fighting a subpoena ordering it to reveal documents detailing how it produced its guidelines for gender confused minors, calling its recommendations “dangerous, unethical and unscientific.”
Nevada’s new insurance mandate includes minors, carving out only an allowance for the insurer to “prescribe requirements that must be satisfied,” such as a psychologist recommendation or parental consent, before covering procedures for an insured patient under 18.
Democratic Nevada state Senator Melanie Scheible celebrated the bill as a victory, thanking Lombardo for signing it in a tweet.
“Today Nevada solidifies its ranking as the BEST place to live as an openly LGBTQ person, as #SB163 was signed into law,” Scheible wrote. “NO INSURANCE COMPANY can deny medically necessary coverage to trans people here!”
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Multiple other Republican governors have signed laws banning gender transition procedures for minors. All Republican 2024 candidates have also opposed gender transition procedures for minors.
A federal judge recently sided with families who sued over Florida’s ban on gender transition procedures for minors, granting an injunction against the law for the plaintiffs and claiming “gender identity is real.”
Lombardo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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