Dear Plume family,
We have been receiving a lot of questions about the Trump administration’s recent repeal of protections for trans individuals under federal healthcare guidelines. There is no question this is purely a result of bigoted thinking meant to discriminate and intimidate and is unsettling news in already very uncertain and challenging times.
First, if you are trans, you are trans. You are beautiful and heard and valid in every way. This is exactly why we started Plume, to be a healthcare company built by and for trans people that will always be on your side no matter what. Your service with us is not, in any way, affected by this decision. We know it is vital, now, more than ever to provide trans people the care they deserve.
There is nothing in this law that makes any immediate changes with any health insurance coverage you might have or with any other doctor you might be seeing. What it does do is allow insurers and medical providers to deny services as they see fit based on trans identity without penalty from the federal government. If other providers or clinics are already seeing you, it is unlikely they would suddenly stop seeing you because of this.
My personal and honest opinion is that insurers will also be unlikely to suddenly stop covering services because of the complexity and administrative burden required. But, if you do lose insurance coverage for whatever reason (much more likely due to changes in employment and/or moving out of state) the only way this might affect your current services with Plume, is that you would lose coverage of medications at the pharmacy if your insurance is currently covering them. We will continue to see you no matter what.
An immediate solution to the pharmacy issue, is to use a GoodRx coupon. In fact, many medications are cheaper with GoodRx compared with a lot of insurance plans’ coverage. We are also actively working on a solution to this. Soon, we will offer mail order delivery of your gender affirming medications at a flat fee not attached to health insurance. We are working with a pharmacy to negotiate prices as affordable as the market will allow to be able to offer that directly to you.
In addition to HRT, we want to support you however we can. We can help provide counseling resources outside of Plume that are accessible online and also work to find counseling support in your area.
As always, send your questions and feedback our way any time.
In solidarity,
Dr. Jerrica Kirkley, Dr. Matthew Wetschler, and the entire Plume team
