Paying for Transgender Surgery
Don’t give up too quickly — there are several options to raise funds.
Whether or not to have gender-confirming surgery is a very personal decision. If your transgender loved one has trusted in you enough to discuss it, they’ve been researching it for a while already. When my transgender son shared with me his desire for top surgery and subsequent bottom surgery, there were many immediate concerns and questions that came to my mind — safety, possible long-term health repercussions, success rates of desired outcomes, and cost. Although these are all pertinent details to consider, this article will only be exploring the financial responsibility of transgender surgeries.
Surgery is expensive and unfortunately, those seeking gender-confirmation surgery usually don’t have the option of utilizing medical/health insurance to help alleviate the financial burden. When you consider most gender-confirmation includes multiple surgical procedures as well as hospital stays, travel costs, and other expenses, the total expense can climb well above $100,000. Male-to-female (MTF) surgical transitions can add up to more than $140,000, while female-to-male (FTM) procedures can cost around $120,000. The FTM top surgery alone hovers around the $10,000 mark.
Because of these staggering costs, most transgender individuals must seek out multiple ways to pay for their gender-confirmation surgeries. Fortunately, there is a multitude of ways to help offset the expense.
Personal Loans
If you have good to excellent credit and a steady income, a personal loan might be a way to help cover the costs of gender-confirmation surgery. It’s possible to leverage an asset as well, such as a car you own. If eligible, you could be looking at low monthly payments for a few years. The drawback is that you will be paying interest on the total amount borrowed, and depending on your credit score may not qualify for the full cost of your surgical procedure(s).
Credit Cards
Some cards have low to no-interest introductory rates for new consumers. The drawback is that if you don’t pay off your card within the promotional period, you’ll probably be paying a much higher interest rate on your funds than a personal loan would offer you. There could also be annual fees to consider.
CareCredit is a credit card that is specifically used for medical costs and procedures which include gender confirmation surgeries. It offers longer terms for slightly better financing rates than traditional credit cards.
Grants for Surgery
There are organizations out there who want to help transgender individuals with the medical costs surrounding gender-confirmation surgery. There is usually a lot of paperwork involved, and it is highly competitive. But some of these nonprofit organizations will pay 50 - 100% financial assistance for such life-changing procedures with costs into the tens of thousands of dollars.
The Jim Collins Foundation, Point of Pride, and Genderbands are all great places to start looking for more information for this type of financial assistance.
Generous Family or Friends
Some of you may be lucky enough to have loved ones who are willing to lend you the money for gender-confirming surgeries. And you may not need to pay back the loan with interest. However, if you run into a problem paying back your family member or friend, you could ruin the relationship you have with them. If you decide to go this route you may want to spell out the terms on paper in order to avoid any future misunderstanding regarding scheduled repayment for either side.
Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding can be a simple way to raise money for all sorts of things — gender-confirmation surgery included! With sites like GoFundMe and IndieGoGo you can share your personal story with the world in search of those who would donate to your cause. With platforms like Custom Ink, BONFIRE, and Teespring you can design and sell products to support your cause — typically t-shirts, coffee mugs, hoodies, hats, and more. And there are several more platforms to choose from if these don’t fit the bill for you.
The great thing is that crowdfunding is available to anyone and you don’t need to repay funds raised. However, some platforms charge a fee with each donation so do your homework on which site will work best for you.
Fundraising
Although similar to crowdfunding, this is meant for a more local scale. Small business — especially those LGBTQ-owned, -operated, and friendly — might help you promote a fundraiser for your transgender surgery.
Your Own Small Business
Why not take selling products one step further and set up your own small storefront? With e-commerce platforms like Shopify, Etsy, and eBay it’s quick and easy to set up your own online store. The drawback is it usually takes a while to build up your customer base and earn a consistent income. It also might cost you to get started because of the materials needed to create your product, depending on what you decide to sell.
If you’ve made the decision to have gender-confirmation surgery, hopefully, you have loved ones who will support you on your journey — emotionally and maybe even financially. If not, there are organizations out there to help you with both. And whether you choose a more traditional way to finance your transformation, prefer a more personal fundraising choice, or combine multiple options from the above list to successfully pay your medical costs, you have financial options to help you on your journey.
Note: I am not a tax advisor or financial consultant. Money raised for surgery can negatively affect your qualifications for social assistance benefits such as Medicaid, food stamps, and more. It can also affect your tax return. Please consult a professional for more specific information.
Zada Kent is co-founder of LGBTQueer-ies where the focus is on education to foster understanding, acceptance, and equality of all human beings, and proud parent to her young adult transgender son. For all parents of transgender kids here are 10 Questions Every Parent Should Ask Their Transgender Teen.
