Employees ask Starbucks to cover gender reassignment surgeries

• Nearly a third of large companies like Starbucks include gender confirmation surgery as part of employee health benefits packages.
  

• Through interviews with employees, it was revealed that the scope of Starbucks supplemental plan will be diluted in September.

• It is not yet known whether the ultra-conservative policies of the US have anything to do with the coffee chain’s decision.

Starbucks has covered some types of gender reassignment surgery since 2012.

It all started in 2018, when he worked with the World Professional Association for Transgender Health to introduce a supplemental insurance plan that added coverage for “previously considered cosmetic” procedures such as breast reduction, forehead contouring, calf implants, gender reassignment surgeries and hair transplants.

With the required medical approvals, Starbucks workers might get many of these procedures with no deductible or copay. The website LGBTQ Them called it “the most comprehensive trans health policy in the world.”

However, the scope of the complementary plan will be diluted in September.

It is not yet known whether ultra-conservative US policies have anything to do with Starbucks’ decision.

Starbucks, one of the most iconic brands in the world

It is no secret to anyone that Starbucks It is one of the most iconic brands in the world. Founded in 1971 in Seattle, USA, the brand has changed the way the world drinks coffee outside of home and work.

Starbucks has been responsible for creating the concept of a third place between home and work where people can relax, enjoy a cup of café and experience the cozy atmosphere. It is often said that Starbucks taught America how to drink coffee and is now continually teaching the world.

In fact, the American firm, in 2021, reached its highest brand value since the beginning of the period, with a value approximately 61 thousand 758 million US dollars, refers to a study by Kantar Millward Brown.

Gender reassignment surgeries, a practice on the rise

As for gender reassignment surgeries, many companies have adopted them within their insurance, not just Starbucks, as they are expensive. Buttock surgeries can cost around $25,000 and upper surgeries (breast surgeries) from $7,800 to $10,000.

Most employer insurance policies, and those sold under the Health Care Law At a Low Price, they now cover at least some gender reassignment surgeries. Pay-as-you-go options include negotiating price directly with vendors and hospitals, pay through a personal loan or credit card, or seek a medical grant or crowdfunding from relatives and acquaintances.

In addition to Starbucks, here are some qualified employers in the Corporate Equality Index 2019 that provide at least one transgender-inclusive health care coverage plan:

• Abbott Laboratories
• Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
• Adidas North America Inc.
• Amazon.com Inc.
• American Express Company
• Home Depot Inc., El

STARBUCKS CASE

As we indicated at the beginning, Fast Company learned through interviews with several concerned employees and prominent health care providers that the scope of the supplemental plan it offers Starbucks to your employees who want gender reassignment surgery will be watered down in September.

Aetnathe insurance company for this plan, has sent notices regarding impending changes in health care providerscausing medical offices to scramble to expedite surgeries for Starbucks-employed patients.

In the meantime, Starbucks workers are anxious that they will be asked to bear a greater share of the costs of these vital procedures once the policy changes. Adding to the confusion, Starbucks says that what triggered this change is a new Washington state law championed by LGBTQ activists to make insurance more trans-inclusive.

Yet across the country, Starbucks employees might end up paying out of pocket for gender-affirming care and lose access to the best doctors.

While the nation’s employers are increasingly open to covering the gender reassignment surgery for their workers as attitudes and public policies on transgender rights change this might be changed by conservative US decisions.

Nearly a third of large companies include gender confirmation surgery as part of employee health benefit packages. Although it varies by employer size and region of the country, the trend is moving rapidly toward providing coverage, benefits consultants say.

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