David Ige: Last News

Breaking away from the trend of state governments implementing discriminatory legislation aimed at LGBTQ people, on June 16, Hawaii Governor David Ige signed three bills into law that advocates say will make life easier for members of the LGBTQ community.The first bill, known as the “Gender Affirming Treatment Act,” bans health insurers and insurance coverage providers from applying categorical or blanket exclusions denying coverage for gender-affirming treatments, or classifying such treatments as “cosmetic” — thereby requiring patients to pay for them out of pocket — when a medical provider has deemed them “medically necessary.”“The legislature finds that these arbitrary assessments of medical necessity are not evidence-based and interfere with the patient-physician relationship,” the bill reads.

bill on March 8 that will protect transgender peoples’ rights to gender-affirming care.But there’s a catch: the legislation won’t take effect until July 1, 2060, more than 38 years in the future.The Gender Affirming Treatment Act (HB 2405) would “prohibit health insurers, mutual benefit societies, and health maintenance organizations” from excluding “gender affirming treatments” such as “cosmetic services when prescribed as medically necessary” in their coverage plans.The bill also specifically outlaws any medical discrimination on the basis of an individual’s gender identity.“The legislature finds that many transgender persons have experienced discriminatory treatment from health insurance providers when seeking coverage for gender affirming treatments,” the bill states in its opening sections. “While federal health care guidelines previously prohibited health insurance and health care providers from discriminating on the basis of gender identity, these protections have been largely rolled back.”The bill — in contrast to other governing bodies throughout the country — recognizes that the “arbitrary” refusal by medical insurers to cover gender affirming treatment is not “medically necessary” nor “evidence-based.” Additionally, the bill notes that transgender individuals denied such treatment are “at a higher risk of suicide and depression.”The bill passed the House by a vote of 49-2.