MIAMI BEACH – Among only 5 percent of all U.S. cities and municipalities that have similar policies, Miami Beach became the first city in Florida to offer transgender health care insurance to its city employees. Transgender employees will be insured for treatments including gender-reassignment surgery, plus hormone and psychological therapy, starting in October.
The policy change came up for a vote June 11 and passed unanimously. Commissioner Edward Tobin was absent from the City Commission meeting, but Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and the entire commission supported the policy change.
Mayor Levine also sponsored a motion June 11 that Miami Beach would support same-sex couples seeking to marry or have their out-of-state marriages recognized in Florida.
“Our city is really pro-LGBT. It’s important for us not to be pro LGBT by word, but more importantly by action,” Levine told The Miami Herald after the commission meeting. “Miami Beach, we want to make it the most progressive, pragmatic in America. These types of initiatives are part of that vision and our mandate.”
The insurance would cover both female-to-male and male-to-female transitions. Some cosmetic portions of the procedures will not be covered, such as hair removal.
