- Jun 12, 2005
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Only in California... God the stupidity never ends. Why is this even being considered?
http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2011/01/berkeley-taxpayers-may-pay-sex-change-surgery
A proposal that would cover the cost of sex-change operations for city employees in Berkeley is set for a City Council vote Tuesday night.
Berkeley health insurance providers Kaiser Permanente and Health Net don't pay for gender-reassignment surgery under the city's current health plans. The City Council proposal would set aside an annual $20,000 fund for the procedure for city employees.
The benefit would allow employees to collect the money before the sex-change operation, which can cost up to $50,000. The money would be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis each year.
To receive a payout from the fund, employees would have to have lived as the opposite sex for at least one year and undergone hormone therapy. They also would have to have worked for the city at least a year.
City Councilman Darryl Moore first proposed the idea in 2007.
"We offer all kinds of benefits to our employees," Moore told the San Francisco Chronicle. "This brings our benefits in line with what's just and fair for the transgender community."
At least a few of the city's 1,500 employees have asked about the surgery, Moore said.
Berkeley would not be the country's first city to cover sex changes for employees.
San Francisco began offering a $50,000-per-employee lifetime benefit to pay for gender-reassignment surgery in 2001. By 2006, the surgery was covered as a regular part of employees' health insurance with a lifetime cap of $75,000.
Not everyone in Berkeley is happy with the plan. Former zoning commissioner Ann Slaby told the Chronicle the city should be paying more attention to basic services.
"How come I'm paying for this?" Slaby said. "There might be some people who really need this, but right now my street badly needs paving."
http://washingtonexaminer.com/news/2011/01/berkeley-taxpayers-may-pay-sex-change-surgery
A proposal that would cover the cost of sex-change operations for city employees in Berkeley is set for a City Council vote Tuesday night.
Berkeley health insurance providers Kaiser Permanente and Health Net don't pay for gender-reassignment surgery under the city's current health plans. The City Council proposal would set aside an annual $20,000 fund for the procedure for city employees.
The benefit would allow employees to collect the money before the sex-change operation, which can cost up to $50,000. The money would be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis each year.
To receive a payout from the fund, employees would have to have lived as the opposite sex for at least one year and undergone hormone therapy. They also would have to have worked for the city at least a year.
City Councilman Darryl Moore first proposed the idea in 2007.
"We offer all kinds of benefits to our employees," Moore told the San Francisco Chronicle. "This brings our benefits in line with what's just and fair for the transgender community."
At least a few of the city's 1,500 employees have asked about the surgery, Moore said.
Berkeley would not be the country's first city to cover sex changes for employees.
San Francisco began offering a $50,000-per-employee lifetime benefit to pay for gender-reassignment surgery in 2001. By 2006, the surgery was covered as a regular part of employees' health insurance with a lifetime cap of $75,000.
Not everyone in Berkeley is happy with the plan. Former zoning commissioner Ann Slaby told the Chronicle the city should be paying more attention to basic services.
"How come I'm paying for this?" Slaby said. "There might be some people who really need this, but right now my street badly needs paving."
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