The Pennsylvania Insurance Department today announced new expectations for nondiscrimination provisions in health-insurance policies, including protections for people based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
The guidance does not require insurers to cover any services that are not otherwise required, but it does stipulate that health-insurance policies under the state’s jurisdiction cannot exclude services based on gender identity and must provide coverage for medically necessary covered services regardless of a person’s gender identity.
Health-insurance policies cannot contain “a blanket exclusion of coverage for health services related to an individual’s gender transition,” according to a news release from Gov. Tom Wolf’s office.
“The commonwealth’s policy is to treat all Pennsylvanians with the respect and dignity they deserve,” Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller said in a statement. “My department is also committed to doing all it can to protect the consumers we serve, and we expect health-insurance companies to join in this effort.”
The guidance will be posted online April 30 at www.pabulletin.com. Consumers who have questions about how their health-insurance policy may be affected by the new guidance are encouraged to contact the Insurance Department at 1-877-881-6388 or www.insurance.pa.gov.
Wolf said his next step is to work with Democrats and Republicans in the state legislature to pass a statewide nondiscrimination bill that includes protections for LGBT residents in employment, housing and public accommodation.
