A new guide – “The cost of gender re-assignment” by writer and campaigner on sexual rights, Jane Fae – is published today as rebuttal of increasingly inaccurate cost information provided by the UK national media in respect of this subject.
It concludes that for the vast majority of MtF trans people seeking treatment, who do not undergo surgery, the overall cost to the NHS is unlikely to exceed £1,000 over the person’s lifetime.
For those who do go on to seek surgery, the cost to the NHS is likely to be around £2,500 in respect of hormone and endocrine intervention and around a further £11,000 for the surgery (both figures aggregated over a twenty year period).
The corresponding figures for FtM transition are £15,000 and £50,000, due to the generally more complex nature of procedurex involved. However, the typical figure for the latter group is likely to be much closer to £20,000.
However, the guide also warns against sweeping generalisations in this area, putting forward a number of ways in which such figures should be treated.
The guide can be downloaded here.
It was compiled with assistance from the UK’s leading clinicians in the field as well as Trans Media Watch, a group dedicated to promoting positive coverage of trans issues in the media.
Jane Fae
Note: The guide is published as a service to the trans community and researchers and journalists are invited to quote from it freely.
Any attempt at republication for commercial purposes will be subject to the conditions of use. Failure to comply is likely to result in a large bill!
Jane Fae's Blog 
Annica said,
January 3, 2012 @ 3:34 pm
Excellent and informative.
Jo Clifford said,
January 5, 2012 @ 10:43 am
Many congratulations, Jane. This is a fantastic piece of work.
Kimberley said,
January 5, 2012 @ 11:06 am
Thank you for taking the time to do this. I get really frustrated when people make statements about our right to use the NHS. As far as I remember I am a high-rate tax payer and pay for these services.
lionessabroad said,
January 12, 2012 @ 12:11 pm
Thank you for this. Its about time the press stopped misrepresenting the cost of treatment and presented a balanced assessment of the situation as it stands. Hopefully your work will move thinking in the right direction.
Jeanne said,
February 17, 2012 @ 3:32 pm
Fae,
Thank you…. This information could be so valuable if we in the USA ever recognize the need for equality of access to health care.
Currently I am looking at the case of CeCe McDonald incarcerated in Minneapolis, Minnesota for what her many supporters all over the world see as self-defense against a hate crime after her face had been cut open with glass, requiring 12 stitches.
In a country that claims you are “innocent till proven guilty” and the right to a speedy trial, she is facing murder charges with a bail that is keeping her locked in solitary confinement or with the male inmates. But to your point, the wound that she sustained was untreated or under-treated and allowed to swell to golf ball size for over a month in Jail. This provides an opening and documentation to challenge the government for withholding medical care. Once that would be a legal issue the practice of withholding hormones and facial hair removal procedures in light of “Standards of Transsexual Medical Care” by the medical industry might be introduced.
Imagine being 22 years old and allowing testosterone to lower the voice because of withheld access to testosterone blockers. One can imagine that a Jury and Judge would be facing a defendant who is a changed person from a year earlier when the sequence of events started.
For access to this story and background, I recommend:
and I have posted my research at:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/BloomingtonIN4CeCe/