Oregon's Medicaid program now covers puberty-suppression drugs

Oregon Medicaid covers puberty-suppression drugs

(Image credit: Twitter/@NPRHealth)

published 6 April 2015

A handful of states cover medical costs for transgender Medicaid recipients, but Oregon is the only one that uses Medicaid funds to help pre-transgender kids delay puberty. Temporarily suppressing puberty requires a shot of a drug called Lupron every three months, at a cost of about $7,500 per injection, but "people with gender dysphoria that did not receive treatment had a much higher rate of hospitalizations or ER visits or doctors visits for depression and anxiety, and they had a pretty significantly high suicide rate," Dr. Ariel Smits tells NPR.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.