Gov. Polis claimed his crown as King of the Woke in announcing Tuesday that many Coloradans will pay higher insurance premiums because the state has mandated “gender affirming care” be included as essential coverage beginning in 2023.
News reports say these health care services will be meaningful and inclusive, listing as examples: cheek, nose and chin implants; lip augmentation; acupuncture; jawline angle creation or augmentation; laser electrolysis and hair removal; and, mental health services.
We have questions.
Is Dave Chappelle allowed to joke about this?
Also, if these medical treatments are inclusive for all genders, does this make it open season for plastic surgery?
Asking for every cisgender friend over 50.
The bigger questions of course, are who will have to pay more and how much more for insurance premiums.
And, how did Polis pass such a mandate without it first passing the state legislature?
The Denver Post reports the Polis mandate only extends to individual coverage and small group markets — one quarter of the market — not insurance provided by large employers or Medicare.
The state legislature would need to act in order to require large employers’ insurance plans to cover gender-affirming care.
Polis insists the extra cost will amount to less than a dollar a month, but the Colorado Association of Health Plans says the yearly increase in premiums will more likely start at 1% to 1.5%.
In a statement to Colorado Politics, the association said:
“This does not save people money on health care and will make meeting premium reduction targets for the Colorado Option even more unlikely.”
There are other costs that will have to be addressed once the exact coverage is determined, the association said.
But for certain, it ‘s going to cost a lot more than the 64 cents a month that Polis claims.