Just 12 per cent of U.S. employers offer transgender-inclusive benefits, finds a survey from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.
The survey, which polled 577 human resources and benefits professionals from nearly 20 industries in the U.S., found more specifically that eight per cent of respondents offer gender re-assignment surgery, 11 per cent offer mental-health counselling pre- or post-surgery, nine percent offer hormone replacement therapy and other prescription medications, 10 per cent offer physician visits, nine percent offer lab tests and two per cent offer cosmetic surgery such as facial feminization and Adam’s apple reduction.
These benefits are much more common among larger employers: 27 per cent of organizations with 10,000 or more employees offer the benefits, while just four per cent of those with 50 or fewer staff members do so.
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Transgender-inclusive benefits are also more common in the west and northeast of the U.S., and among self-funded employers.
“Employees are looking for inclusive organizations that offer a range of benefits to serve a diverse population,” Julie Stich, the foundation’s director of research, said in a release. “I expect going forward, we’ll see even more organizations offering transgender benefits as part of their overall health-care offerings.”
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