By Corinne Murdock |
On Monday, an Arizona Senate bill requiring equal medical treatment and insurance coverage for detransitioners advanced out of a House committee.
SB1511 passed narrowly out of the House Health & Human Services Committee along party lines, 5-4. Rep. Matt Gress (R-LD04) was absent. The bill would require parity of treatment between those who transition and those seeking to detransition; it wouldn’t compel healthcare providers or insurers to provide their services to detransitioners if their services don’t include gender transitions.
The bill sponsor, Sen. Janae Shamp (R-LD29), said during the committee’s Monday hearing that the state doesn’t currently provide complete care for all who suffer from gender dysphoria. The senator explained that billing and diagnoses codes exist for those undergoing gender transitions, but that none exist for detransitioners. Shamp explained that the bill includes a requirement for data tracking in order to better understand detransitioning rates and quality of care.
“This isn’t about what we believe, this is about taking care of people who need medical coverage,” said Shamp.
Several showed up to testify in favor of the bill.
David Boettger, a recently retired pediatrician from Salt Lake City and unpaid consultant for the political advocacy group Do No Harm, offered some data on those who transition. Boettger claimed that transgender individuals suffer from 19 times the suicide rate, five times more suicide attempts, 3.5 times more in-patient psychiatric admissions, and 2.5 times for cancer diagnoses. He characterized transitioning as a “ticking time bomb.”
Another Do No Harm representative, emergency doctor Carrie Mendoza, insisted that SB1511 assured individuals would receive insurance coverage that is critical to access and quality care. Mendoza testified that she handled detransitioners suffering from wound care problems, UTIs, and frequent pain, and that a lack of medical codes for treating detransitioners has caused their issues to go unreported, therefore limiting the healthcare community’s understanding of their needs.
Further testimony came from attorney Martha Shoultz, a representative of the organization Transition Justice. Shoultz testified on how young people who come to her organization have expressed difficulty in finding doctors who can balance hormones. Shoultz testified to the existence of several girls bound in wheelchairs or in need of lifelong medication due to uterine atrophy, and young men who never can have their same sexual functions after transitioning.
In closing, Shamp emphasized that her bill wasn’t partisan, but rather focused on assisting those left without recourse under the current healthcare system. Shamp said that she had engaged in numerous discussions with detransitioners troubled by doctors not knowing how to take care of them. Shamp said that one Arizonan told her that he would have to move to Israel in order to receive the care he needs.
“I understand that this has become a partisan issue, and I wish it wasn’t,” said Shamp. “That’s not what this bill is. Hear me when I say this is about taking care of all people. This isn’t about whether we agree or disagree on gender dysphoria or transitioning.”
Rep. Selina Bliss (R-LD01) expressed her support for the bill from her perspective as a nurse.
“To help someone with gender dysphoria to a certain point and abandon them, I just can’t sit here silently,” said Bliss.
Ahead of her “no” vote, Rep. Patty Contreras (D-LD12) read aloud from a coalition of LGBTQ individuals declaring the bill to be an “unnecessary and gratuitous excuse” to delegitimize gender transitions. Contreras’ letter denied the existence of detransitioners, claiming they were forced to detransition due to the harassment and discrimination they faced after transitioning.
Rep. Sarah Ligouri (D-LD05) said that the legislation constituted “government overreach,” specifically the datakeeping measure within the bill as a registry of individuals who transitioned genders.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2025, the bill would require health insurers and healthcare providers who provide gender transition services to also provide detransition services. Additionally, the bill would require health insurers to submit monthly reports to the Arizona Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions detailing the number of gender detransition insurance claims; the age, sex, and state and county of residence of individuals who receive any gender detransition procedures, and the dates of the procedures. The reports wouldn’t include any names or personal information.
The bill would also require state agencies that issue licenses, certificates, permits, or any other official documents to adopt an expedited procedure for detransitioners seeking corrections to their official documents.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
