Hello everyone!

Is anyone a little p****d off like me that the Ontario government has announced that they will now cover a sex change operation!!!? I can't believe it. It is NOT medically necessary to have one. I guess it makes me so mad because many of us stuggle to finance our very necessary lap-band surgeries Grrrrrrrr :confused_smile:.

I realize that on the other hand, it is easier with the present system with lap-bands, to book a surgical date in a more timely fashion as opposed to the gastric bypass which is covered but has a rediculous waiting time. It's one of those doulble edged swords.

I am a self pay too, however to say that a Sex change operation is not Medically necessary is a tad unkind and an uneducated statement.

These unfortunate people are born into the wrong body... Gender is not always Black & White... there is a huge GREY area.

A gentleman that worked for my husband became a woman in her 40's... Can you imagine the torture it would be to go around in the WRONG body for 40 years!!!!

We all need INSURANCE coverage for our necessities.

E.L I'm with you!! Lets be fair across the board.... and spending 40 years in a fat body is torture too. However a sex change is not a life or death medical problem??? Although some lap band surgeries are. I'm not happy with my present weight and I am paying to have this done. Sex change operations should be self pay too.

Gender identity is a difficult issue- just becuase you cannot see someone's problem (like you cannot miss ours) does not make it not real. People born with both sets of genitals, or missassigned or just confused have huge rates of suicide and major depresssion. Just as we were born with genes that make us the way we are - they were also born that way.

E.L I'm with you!! Lets be fair across the board.... and spending 40 years in a fat body is torture too. However a sex change is not a life or death medical problem??? Although some lap band surgeries are. I'm not happy with my present weight and I am paying to have this done. Sex change operations should be self pay too.

I disagree, Lapband and sex reassignment surgery should BOTH be covered by our Universal Health Care System. We pay HUGE taxes in this country to accommodate this.

Yes, being in a fat body for 40 yrs is torture. ( I am 53) but I'll be honest here, my poor eating habits and dislike of exercise and a Sh!tload of DENIAL is what got me here... get real!

People needing Gender Reassignment surgery did not ASK to be born into the wrong bodies... there is nothing they could do about it.

Hopefully in the future medical coverage will be more inclusive for all of our needs. BTW...I am not IGNORANT ...but very frustrated by many things but most of all the the difficulty I have been through for many months now just to get this done. I thought I could just vent here a little knowing there are others in my shoes. No need to name call people!

I will go against the grain I never want to see the lap band covered call me all the names in the book I am ok with being an elitist snob for a lot of reasons...

If it is covered there won't be more time for WLS surgery it will just be another surgery on the schedule and there is already a 7 year wait in ON for the bypass.

people who are self pay take it more seriously and tend do better than people who have it paid because they have skin in the game (that comes from talking to WLS in the US where there are both options)

and a host of other reasons I know it is a hardship for some but hell I had to pay too and I found the money....

I am glad the On legislature passed a bill to not cover the band.

Heather