An Oregon policy enacted in January allows individuals as young as age 15 get sex-change operations that are covered by the state's Medicaid program.
Fox News reported that the decision for the Oregon Health Plan to cover such procedures, which can be obtained by 15-year-olds without parental permission, came from Oregon’s Health Evidence Review Commission (HERC), the members of which are appointed by the governor and paid by the state.
The public was not surveyed before the policy was enacted.
As a result, the state Medicaid program now covers cross-sex hormone therapy, puberty-suppressing drugs, and gender-reassignment surgery for individuals at or above age 15—the age of medical consent in the state—for those who are diagnosed with the mental disorder "gender dysphoria."
According to HERC, the inclusion of these procedures in the Oregon Health Plan could cost up to $150,000 each year.
Health insurance in Oregon has been subject to controversy in the past. The state’s failed Obamacare exchange Cover Oregon—which cost $300 million in federal funds—was eventually dissolved by lawmakers.