PA 15-132 An Act Concerning Birth Certificates (Part 2 of 6 – Side Tracked)

Reprinted from Diana’s Little Corner of the Nutmeg State by permission.

While we were waiting for the bill to be introduced in the Public Health Committee, we received word that in the Insurance and Real Estate committee a bill was introduced to take away our insurance coverage. The bill was HB5193 was introduced by a Republican,

AN ACT CONCERNING HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE FOR GENDER REASSIGNMENT SURGERY.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:That title 38a of the general statutes be amended to specify that health insurance policies delivered, issued for delivery, renewed, amended or continued in this state shall not be required to provide coverage for gender reassignment surgery or related surgical expenses.
Statement of Purpose:To specify that health insurance policies delivered, issued for delivery, renewed, amended or continued in this state shall not be required to provide coverage for gender reassignment surgery or related surgical expenses.

In his testimony Rep. Sampson R-Wolcott said in part,

I initially proposed this bill in response to bulletin IC-37 released by the State of Connecticut Insurance Department December 19, 2013 which mandated entities issuing individual and group health insurance to provide certain types of coverage for gender reassignment surgery. I find the a bold action disconcerting because it is the duty of the State of Connecticut General Assembly to make the determination of what health insurance coverage should be mandated and not the Insurance Department. It is also my sincere belief that this issue must be properly vetted through the legislative process.

Notwithstanding the concerns addresses above, this policy raises a whole host of issues that deserve to be heard and reviewed to determine is this should remain the law in our state. For instance, many respected medical professionals claim that this procedure is barbaric and that the established treatment for gender dysphoria is not gender reassignment surgery but rather some type of counseling and/or mental health treatment. We must also consider how to address the members of the medical community who find gender reassignment surgery objectionable based on their Hippocratic Oath and/or religious beliefs.

I have already posted my thoughts on the bill on my blog so I do not want to reiterate them again.

Upon hearing about the bill the coalition discussed our strategy to block the bill. We knew that there wasn’t enough votes to pass the bill out of committee but we also knew we had to put up a defense against the bill. We settled on having healthcare providers, a lawyer, and members of the trans community speak against the bill.

During the hearing there was no one who spoke in favor of the bill and we were joined by two other people who spoke against the bill, a LCSW who works with trans clients and a retired RN whose son is trans. [There were a number of people who submitted written testimony opposing the bill.] When the committee got to the bill, the bill sponsor got up and left the room.

The JF Deadline* came and went with no vote on the bill so it died in committee but we had to be vigilant to make sure it wasn’t added as an amendment later on in the session.

*JF DEADLINE
The date by which each committee must report out bills or resolutions for further consideration by other committees or the full General Assembly. The committee deadlines are listed in the Joint Rules and all reports must be submitted to the Legislative Commissioners' Office by 5:00 p.m. on the dates listed.

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GLAD has a birth certificate tool kit to help you with the paperwork.