Local
D.C. requires insurers to cover gender reassignment
Mayor bans insurance discrimination against trans residents
D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray announced on Thursday that health insurance companies doing business in the District must provide full coverage for medically recognized treatments to help transgender people change their gender, including gender reassignment surgery.
At a news conference in a meeting room outside his office, Gray said the cityās Department of Insurance, Securities, and Banking issued a bulletin directing insurers to recognize a condition known as gender dysphoria, or gender identity disorder, as a medical condition to be covered by insurance plans.
Transgender advocates note that the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association recognize gender dysphoria as a diagnosable condition through which physicians and other health care professional provide a wide range of approved medical treatments to assist people in transitioning from one gender to another.
āToday, the District takes a major step toward leveling the playing field for individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria,ā Gray said. āThese residents should not have to pay exorbitant out-of-pocket expenses for medically necessary treatment when those without gender dysphoria do not,ā he said.
āIām clarifying today that treatment of individuals diagnosed with gender dysphoria is a covered benefit in all individual and group insurance plans in the District of Columbia, including Medicaid,ā Gray said.
Grayās remark drew a prolonged, standing ovation from LGBT activists, including transgender advocates, who gathered in the mayorās ceremonial bill-signing room where Gray held his news conference.
āThose who know me know how proud I am that the District continues to be on the cutting edge and on the forefront when it relates to equality and fairness for its LGBTQ residents,ā Gray said.
The bulletin, which the city sent to insurance companies on the day of Grayās announcement, cites the D.C. Human Rights Act as among the legal grounds being used to require insurers to cover transgender related treatments. The Human Rights Act, among other categories, bans discrimination based on gender identity and expression as well as sexual orientation.
The bulletin cites the D.C. Unfair Insurance Trade Practices Act of 2001 as further grounds for not allowing insurers to exclude coverage of trans-related treatments from their insurance plans.
Among those speaking at the news conference was Mara Keisling, executive director of the D.C.-based National Center for Transgender Equality, which worked with the mayorās office andĀ insurance department officials to help draft the four-page bulletin.
Keisling said Grayās action places D.C. among just five states that have adopted similar policies requiring insurers to cover treatments such as gender reassignment surgery and hormone therapy to assist an individualās transition to another gender.
Those states are California, Oregon, Colorado,Ā Vermont and Connecticut.
āThis is really significant,ā Keisling told the Blade after the news conference. āIt means that transgender people in D.C. now can make their health care decisions with their doctor rather than with their insurance companies,ā she said.
Asked what treatments are involved in a gender transition, Keisling said experts with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health Standards of Care (WPATH) have developed a wide range of treatments that may vary from person to person depending on individual needs.
āItās a whole range of transition-related care ā everything from diagnostic visits to experts in the field,ā Keisling said. āIt can mean hormone treatments. It can mean lab tests to make sure your hormones are working correctly and not causing any harm. There are various kinds of surgeries that transgender people may need. So it covers a whole range of things.ā
D.C. transgender activist Andy Bowen, who recently joined the staff of the NCTE as a policy associate, called the D.C. initiative announced by Gray the most comprehensive among the states that have adopted similar policies.
āIf you look at some of the other states they say theyāre not going to cover some treatments,ā Bowen said. āD.C. has not done that. It just said that if itās one of the WPATH treatments weāre going to cover it. And thatās amazing to hear a government be that unequivocal about it.ā
Philip Barlow, the cityās Associate Commissioner of Insurance, said after the news conference that requiring health insurance companies to cover the medical treatments for transgender people would likely result in a small increase in premiums over a period of time.
āIt will just be incorporated into the general cost and utilization that insurers use in coming up with future rate increases,ā he said. āBut we donāt really anticipate it to have a significant impact on the rates.ā
Michael Silverman, executive director of the New York-based Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund, praised Gray for taking action that he said would āend health care discrimination against transgender residents of Washington, D.C.ā
The bulletin issued by the cityās Department of Insurance that directs insurers to provide full coverage for medically approved treatments to transgender individuals in D.C. can be obtained here.
Maryland
Maryland’s Joe Vogel would make history if elected to Congress
27-year-old gay lawmaker running for David Trone seat
Maryland state Del. Joe Vogel (D-Montgomery County) on Monday said it is time for a new generation of leaders in Congress.
The Montgomery County Democrat last May declared his candidacy for Maryland’s 6th Congressional District after Congressman David Trone announced his run for retiring U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.)’s seat. Vogel, 27, would be the first Latino, the first gay man and the first Gen Zer elected to Congress from Maryland if he were to win in November.
“We need a new generation of leadership with new perspectives, new ideas and the courage to actually deliver for our communities if we want things to get better in this country,” Vogel told the Washington Blade during an interview at the Line Hotel in Adams Morgan.
Protecting democracy among priorities
Vogel was born in Uruguay and immigrated to Rockville with his family when he was three years old.
He volunteered for former President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign. Vogel, who is Jewish, in 2014 worked for Maryland state Sen. Cheryl Kagan (D-Montgomery County)’s campaign.
He was part of Hillary Clinton’s National Advance Team during her 2016 presidential campaign, and worked on former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s 2017 gubernatorial bid. Vogel later joined the March for Our Lives movement for gun control that began after a gunman killed 17 people at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14, 2018.
Vogel in 2020 worked for U.S. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.)’s presidential campaign. The Montgomery County Democrat in 2022 became the first Gen Zer to win a seat in the Maryland General Assembly.
Vogel pointed out to the Blade that he has introduced 18 bills in this year’s legislative session.
One of them, a bill that would prohibit the state from giving foster children in their custody trash bags for them to transport their belongings, passed unanimously in the House on March 14. Other measures that Vogel has sponsored would, among other things, provide security grants to abortion clinics and increase investments in local newspapers.
“I have a record of being able to deliver results,” he said. “That’s what I’m running on.”
Vogel pointed out to the Blade that his platform includes:
- ā¢ Protecting democracy
- ā¢ Preventing “attacks on fundamental rights”
- ā¢ Fighting climate change
- ā¢ Stopping gun violence
Vogel also noted his support for the Equality Act, which would add sexual orientation and gender identity to federal civil rights laws.
“At a moment of time when you have attacks against the LGBTQ+ community, against our rights, against our identities, I believe that there’s nothing more powerful than electing Maryland’s first openly LGBTQ+ member of Congress,” he said.
Vogel added his election would send “a message to all the young LGBTQ+ people across the state that they belong, and that they have someone in the United States Congress who understands them and is going to fight for them every single day,” added Vogel.
Vogel’s great-grandparents fled Europe ahead of the Holocaust. Uruguay’s military dictatorship was in place from 1973-1985.
His multiple identities remain a cornerstone of his legislative priorities and of his campaign.
“When we talk about the attacks on LGBTQ+ people, I get that. I feel that,” said Vogel. “I understand that when we talk about the attacks on immigrant communities … not only do I understand that, personally, but I’m around so many immigrants that feel that pain of what we’ve seen over the last many years of the incessant attacks on immigrants and Latino people. When we see the rise in anti-Semitism, I feel that personally.”
HRC, Victory Fund have endorsed Vogel
The Democratic primary will take place on May 14.
April McClain Delaney, a former U.S. Department of Commerce official whose husband is former Congressman John Delaney, and state Del. Lesley Lopez (D-Montgomery County) are among Vogel’s primary opponents. Former state Del. Dan Cox, an anti-LGBTQ Republican who unsuccessfully ran for governor in 2022, is also running for Trone’s seat.
Campaign finance reports indicate Vogel raised $379,755.91 between May 4, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2023. McClain Delaney reported she received $536,557 in campaign contributions from Oct. 1, 2023, to Dec. 31, 2023.
The Human Rights Campaign, the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, Equality PAC and the Sierra Club are among the organizations that have endorsed Vogel’s campaign. U.S. Reps. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Mark Takano (D-Calif.) and Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and Frederick County Council President Brad Young are among those who have also backed him. The Maryland State Education Association and the National Education Association this week endorsed Vogel.
Vogel dismissed suggestions that he does not have enough legislative experience to run for Congress and that he is too young.
“When you’re elected to Congress, you’re elected for a two-year term,” he said. “Look at what I’ve been able to accomplish in a two-year term. I’ve proven that I can hit the ground running, get results, deliver results.”
Vogel added the race to succeed Trone in Congress is “me versus the status quo.”
“We need a new generation of leadership with new perspectives, new ideas and the courage to actually deliver for our communities if we actually want things to get better in this country,” said Vogel.
Democratic opponent gave money to Jim DeMint
Former Republican Gov. Larry Hogan last month announced he is running for U.S. Senate. Prince George’s County Executive Director Angela Alsobrooks is also hoping to succeed Cardin.
Vogel sharply criticized Cox.
“He is as bigoted as it gets,” Vogel told the Blade. “He is a far-right extremist who bussed people to D.C. on Jan. 6, who is as homophobic as it gets, and who is as transphobic as it gets.”
Vogel said Maryland voters in November “need to reject Dan Cox” and “we have to reject Larry Hogan.” (Vogel has endorsed Trone’s Senate campaign.)
“We have to elect pro-equality members of Congress this November, to finally secure the protections that we need for our community in Congress,” said Vogel.
Vogel also vowed to “do everything in my power to ensure that” former President Donald Trump does not win re-election in November.
“Three generations in my family: My great-grandparents, my grandparents, my parents experienced the loss of democracy,” Vogel told the Blade. “My great-grandparents escaped fascism. My grandparents and parents lived under a repressive military dictatorship in Uruguay, and I see the concern that my parents feel seeing the rise of Trump.”
“I refuse to be the fourth generation in my family who experienced the loss of democracy,” he added. “This November, the election fundamentally is going to decide the future of our democracy.”
Vogel on Sunday during a forum the Frederick County Democratic Party sponsored criticized McClain Delaney over her 2005 campaign donation to then-U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) after he said gay people should not be teachers.
“I can’t imagine making any sort of political contribution to any anti-LGBTQ+, anti-choice, pro-NRA member of the United States Senate, and let alone the maximum allowed contribution,” said Vogel. “There is a stark contrast there.”
‘My heart breaks for what we saw on’ Oct. 7
Vogel spoke with the Blade less than six months after Hamas launched a surprise attack against southern Israel.
“It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” he said. “What concerns me is that Hamas has made clear that they intend to carry out an attack like that again and again and again and again.”
“My heart breaks for what we saw on that day,” added Vogel.
Vogel is among those who attendedĀ a pro-Israel rallyĀ that took place on the National Mall last November. He has also met with relatives of hostages who remain in the Gaza Strip.
“Hearing the stories of parents whose kids are still in Gaza, the pain that I feel is tremendous,” said Vogel. “We have to bring those hostages home.”
Vogel told the Blade that Hamas can no longer control Gaza. He also said peace cannot be achieved with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government in office.
“If we want to reach peace, a number of things have to happen: Hamas needs to go. We need a change in leadership in Israel and we need diplomatic negotiations to get a bilateral ceasefire, which is not what I think people are calling for when they call for an immediate ceasefire.”
Vogel last October posted to his X account pictures of anti-Semitic graffiti in his apartment building.
He told the Blade the graffiti was removed, but “it took a very long time.” Vogel has introduced a bill that would require the removal of graffiti in a specific period of time if it violates Maryland’s hate crimes law.
Book bans ‘have absolutely no place’
Vogel during the interview also criticized Moms for Liberty and their efforts to ban books in Maryland. He noted Jaime Brennan, the chair of the group’s Frederick County chapter, is running for the county’s Board of Education.
“Book bans in a free democratic society have absolutely no place,” said Vogel.
The Maryland House on March 15 by a 98-37 vote margin approved the Freedom to Read Act. The measure would create a “state policy that local school systems operate their school library media programs consistent with certain standards,” require “each local school system to develop a policy and procedures to review objections to materials in a school library media program” and ban “a county board of education from dismissing, demoting, suspending, disciplining, reassigning, transferring or otherwise retaliating against certain school library media program personnel for performing their job duties consistent with certain standards.”
The bill is now before the Senate Education, Energy and the Environment Committee.
District of Columbia
Whitman-Walker names new CEO for Health System unit
Heather Aaron credited with advancing LGBTQ health for seniors
Whitman-Walker Health, D.C.ās longtime LGBTQ and HIV health services provider, announced on March 26 that it has appointed Heather Aaron, a health care educator and executive for more than 30 years, as the new CEO for Whitman-Walker Health System.
Whitman-Walker Health System, a division of Whitman-Walker, among other things, advances the mission of Whitman-Walker through expanding its financial and fundraising capacity through the Whitman-Walker Foundation; the Whitman-Walker Institute, which conducts HIV-related research; and the Whitman-Walker Health System Real Property Holdings, according to a write-up on the Whitman-Walker website.
In a press release announcing the appointment, Whitman-Walker Health System Board Chair Ann Bonham called Aaron a ādynamic and collaborative leader that will help us to realize the vision and full potential of our health system ā¦ building revenue and growth opportunities that will further Whitman-Walkerās care, advocacy, education, and research goals in partnership with Naseema Shafi, CEO of Whitman-Walker Health.ā
The Whitman-Walker Health System CEO position became open in April 2023 when former Health System CEO Dr. Ryan Moran left the position to become Deputy Secretary of Health and Healthcare Finance for the State of Maryland. Whitman-Walker named Cindy Lewin, a healthcare specialist with nonprofit organizations, as interim CEO while it conducted a national search for a permanent CEO.
āHeather has spent her entire career in health care, making a difference for the communities where she has served as Health Care Executive and Educator for more than thirty years,ā the Whitman-Walker announcement of her appointment says. āShe has worked tirelessly to develop diversity, equity, and inclusion in all her work,ā it says, adding that her work experience includes services for members of the LGBTQ community and people with HIV/AIDS.
āIn Connecticut, she operated the only continuum of care model which included a nursing home, independent living apartments and case management in one centralized community,ā the announcement continues. āThe care model was specifically designed for people living with HIV and AIDS,ā it says.
āIām thrilled to be joining the Whitman-Walker family in service to the community,ā Aaron said in the announcement press release. āI look forward to getting to know staff, patients, and engaging with D.C. in a meaningful way,ā she said.
Maryland
How a culture war canceled a 25-year-old LGBTQ workshop for independent schools
St. Paul’s Schools in Baltimore County ran course
BY LILLIAN REED | Angry emails, phone calls and social media comments were pouring into the Association of Independent Maryland & D.C. Schools in January.
Never before had the associationās popular annual āBelonging in Gender and Sexual Identityā workshop for private school educators and students generated such negative attention. That was until this yearās event unexpectedly attracted the gaze of national conservative media outlets and their audiences.
The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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