Del. insurance commissioner issues transgender discrimination warning

Delaware’s insurance commissioner issues a stern reminder today for companies providing healthcare coverage. Discrimination against transgender patients is against the law. According to Equality Delaware the state commissioner released a bulletin today in the hopes of clarifying the law adopted in 2013.

The Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Act of 2013 made it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage for transition-related expenses such as facial surgery, hair replacement and gender reassignment. Folks in the office of the commissioner tell us there were concerns that some insurance companies were still failing to offer this coverage as well as raising premiums.

“Health insurance is one of the areas where we see nationwide that there is still significant discrimination,” Said Lisa Goodman, the president of advocacy group, Equality Delaware. “they are going to aggressively enforce equal treatment,”

Insurance companies that fail to comply with this law face fines depending on the severity of the violation.