Transgender Premera Customers- watch your copays this month.

After six years of my HRT costing the same amount every month, it tripled in price this week.

I get my prescriptions from Costco, and the pharmacy techs immediately called Premera to ask what was up, only to be told “this is no longer covered.”

I called Premera‘s customer service line myself and the rep confirmed that the prescription was not going to be covered anymore.

I reminded her of the Washington Gender Affirming Treatment Act which states that insurance companies cannot deny care related to gender transition as prescribed by a doctor. This also includes healthcare for minors, despite what our dear leader may have said.

I was then put on hold with the rep checking in every so often to confirm that ”x department says it’s not covered, but let me check with y department.”

After half an hour of this, I was finally told that actually, it is covered after all, and “for some reason Costco rejected it, we don’t know why.”

Call me paranoid, but I have a hard time believing Costco was at fault here, or that this was just a mistake after 6+ years of the same doctor, same pharmacy, and same prescription.

If this happens to you, please be aware of your rights, and don’t hesitate to call out your insurance company if they try to violate them. If you need to do this, remember to be calm and non accusatory. The rep on the phone has no idea what their company is doing, and likely doesn’t know the laws surrounding healthcare.

Should your call go less smoothly than mine, a gentle and kind reminder of the laws can always be backed up with a cheerful “okay, thank you so much for your time. Do you have a number for your legal department so my attorney can get in touch?” You don’t need to have an attorney for this to work- they are not going to call your bluff.