Policy Clarified for Vets Changing Gender Markers

Policy Clarified for Vets Changing Gender Markers

By Trudy Ring /span>http://www.advocate.com/authors.aspx?searchterm=Trudy%20Ring>



Transgender veterans will now be able to change the gender marker on their
medical records by simply providing a physician’s letter confirming gender
reassignment, according to a clarification of a Veterans Health
Administration policy.

The VHA, which is part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, issued a
directive last year on providing respectful and appropriate care to
transgender veterans, but it was not clear about the documentation needed
for changing the gender marker, notes the National Center for Transgender
Equality’s *blog.*/span>http://transgenderequality.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/veterans-admini...>The
requirement for “official documentation ... was initially interpreted
incorrectly by some staff and facilities to require proof of sex
reassignment surgery,” the center reports.

Now, with the clarification, “a vet must simply provide a letter from a
physician certifying that the vet has changed genders and has had
appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition,” according to the
blog. “To be clear, the physician’s letter does not need to certify that
some specific surgery or any particular medical procedure has been
completed — only appropriate clinical care for the individual veteran as
determined by the physician.”

This is similar to documentation now required by the U.S. State Department
for changing gender markers on passports and by some states for doing so on
driver’s licenses. The center is preparing “a user-friendly guide” to the
policy and will release it in a few weeks





Sherrie L. Hans, PhD

Deputy Chief Officer

National Center for Ethics in Health Care

Veterans Health Administration

810 Vermont Ave, NW

Washington, DC 20420

            (202) 461-4024