@b: Your friend clearly isn't a monkey, but rather an ass.

Awww, baby just can't sleep without a penis.

Kudos to the Merc for providing insurance that covers these operations. There's no way theyd be throwing stones at the state if they didn't. It's good to know, even though print is struggling and healthcare costs are rising, that the Merc still considers healthcare of their employees so important that they'd cover a procedure which the state currently doesn't. They should be commended for that, regardless of your opinion of sex change operations.

@Chuck - Cheeky point, but the reason to pressure groups with giant insurance plans—like the state—to change their policies is so the insurance companies will have to change their exclusions on covering sex changes. The Mercury, with about 30 people on its insurance policy, is a pipsqueak compared to public agencies, so a lot of the burden of driving change rests on them. You're right, though, small companies should push for change. I'm just not sure it will do much good until the big providers weigh in.

INS companies will cover anything - at a price, just like the cities recent coverage of Elective Genital Mutilation, which costs us another 12 1/2 grand a year to cover it.
While I dearly wish we didn't even have INS companies come between us and our doctors, aren't you blaming the INS companies now for something that isn't their fault?
I should think they'd love to take more money to cover some more things on the policy.
I think what the fight is over is wise use of health care monies.

I completely disagree. I am an unwavering supporter of gay rights and equal marriage, but this is an issue of a mental disorder being treated with destructive plastic surgery, and asking the state to pay for it (at approximately $30k/year a significant cost to taxpayers: equivalent, for example, to one entry-level teacher's salary).

What next, covering Body Integrity Disorder with state-covered amputations? After all, the person self-identifies as an amputee, who are we to stand in the way of their fulfilling themselves surgically? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_integrit…