from
https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwor.../transgender-patients-calculating-actual-cost
Approximately 75% to 78% of individuals seeking gender dysphoria care will pursue hormone treatments, which are generally continued for the duration of a transgender patient’s life, Dr Hopwood said. The prices for these will vary by delivery method, he continued, with oral estrogen costing $20 monthly, injectable estrogen roughly $150 to $200 monthly, and accompanying spironolactone $10 to $20 monthly. For transgender men’s hormone therapies, testosterone injections typically cost $80 monthly (but may vary based on state supply regulations), testosterone patches more than $300 monthly, and testosterone gels between $300 to $350 monthly.
“As far as medications go ... those are super cheap,” Dr Hopwood said. “But you do have a lifetime of them, so people starting them in their 20s and 30s ... are going to be using them for a long, extended time period.”
Surgeries, on the other hand, are characterized by a larger one-time cost. These procedures are most often sought by transgender males, Dr Hopwood said, with the most common being chest reconstructions costing between $9000 and $10,000. Whereas survey data cited by Dr Hopwood suggest that 40% of transgender males have already had this procedure, only 3% reported undergoing a metoidioplasty ($50,000-$60,000) and 2% reported having a phalloplasty ($50,000-$300,000). Hysterectomies ($10,000) were also reported by 20% of transgender men, although Dr Hopwood said that many of those seeking the procedure do so out of medical concern.
Although some may view certain gender-affirming surgeries for transgender women as cosmetic, Hopwood said that many of these procedures are especially necessary for women as they are much more likely to face discrimination or violence based on their presentation. Breast augmentation surgeries can cost anywhere from $5000 to $10,000 and are sought by more than half of transgender women, he said. Facial feminization surgeries could be as expensive as $40,000 or as little as $3000 depending on the patient’s preexisting facial bone structure. For sexual organ surgeries, vaginoplasties ($30,000 to $50,000) were reported among approximately one-fifth of transgender women, while labioplasties ($4,000 to $5,000; sometimes included with vaginoplasty) and orchiectomies ($4000 to $6000) alone were less common. Dr Hopwood noted that some transgender women will also seek hair removal, non-breast implants, tracheal shaves or liposuction to better fit in with the general population, although these surgeries are much less likely to be covered by insurance policies.