Transgender Medical Needs Go Unaddressed at Most Colleges

Transgender college students across the country say more needs to be done to cover their medical needs under university-provided health care plans, according to Campus Progress.

Most college and university health policies cover some procedures such as chest reduction surgeries and hormonal treatments for non-transgender people, similar treatment is not afforded to transgender students.

Transgender University of Iowa graduate student Stef Shuster paid $10,000 for chest surgery because the school's health coverage does not consider such procedures to be necessary. The cost of the surgery is nearly equal to Shuster's annual stipend.

"I can only dream about what else that money could have been spent on," Shuster told Campus Progress. "I honestly don't know how I pulled it together in order to pay for that."

Another transgender student estimated that her full transition cost $49,550, with none of it covered by university insurance.

Currently, 18 colleges cover at least some medical expenses tied to transgender peoples' needs, at minimal cost to the institutions themselves.