Policy Track
Knowledge and Skills Building Workshops
Each year, One Colorado Education Fund (OCEF) publishes the Transgender Health Insurance Buyers Guide, a resource that allows transgender and gender diverse (TGD) Coloradans purchasing health insurance on the state’s exchange to make more informed decisions on gender-affirming coverage options. The guide is also an effective tool for policy makers and organizations to advocate for comprehensive coverage and non-discrimination protections for transition-related care. Starting as an analysis of coverage for behavioral health services, hormone therapy, gender-affirming surgery, and blanket exclusions on transition-related care, the guide reflects changes in coverage and/or benefits by insurance carriers. The most current buyers guide, released each year in alignment with the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) open enrollment period, reviews additional services and coverage needs, quality and scope of hormone therapy coverage, and quality and scope of PrEP and HIV prescription drug coverage.
This workshop will discuss the genesis of the guide, the process used by One Colorado to create the resource, and its impact on the community and larger policy change. It will also offer a forum for discussion and strategy on how this tool could be replicated in other states.