A new policy on gender surgery is likely a boost to mental health sector. Aetna is updating its commercial insurance policies to include gender-affirming surgeries for transgender women, after several patients came forward who had been denied coverage for breast augmentation. Aetna worked with a law firm and a nonprofit organization representing these women to redesign their clinical policies around transgender surgeries. Under the new policy, the patient must have a letter of referral from a mental healthcare provider, offer evidence of their history with gender dysphoria, and have already completed a year’s worth of hormonal therapies before they receive the surgery
