Sex-change Surgeries, Paid for by Taxpayers, Rising Sharply in Maine

The number of taxpayer-funded transsexual surgeries in Maine has nearly quadrupled since 2019, the year Democratic Gov. Janet Mills modified MaineCare policy to cover procedures advocates for gender ideology describe as “gender affirming care.”

The number of “gender affirming” surgical procedures paid for by MaineCare almost doubled each year following the policy change, from 24 surgeries in 2019 to 44 in 2020 and then to 82 in 2021, according to records provided to The Maine Wire by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services.

MaineCare, the state’s version of Medicaid, is a government program that uses state and federal tax dollars to pay for healthcare services for low- and middle-income Mainers.

Transsexual surgeries came under the coverage umbrella of MaineCare following an emergency directive by the Mills Administration in 2019.

The MainCare rules currently state: “Physicians and rendering providers will be reimbursed for providing MaineCare covered services to treat a member with gender dysphoria, as prescribed by a physician or other referring medical professional. Coverage for surgical services related to gender dysphoria will require a prior authorization…”