In fiscal year 2023, a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) facility in Seattle, Washington, submitted a request for over half a million dollars to construct and staff a surgical facility for conducting gender transition surgeries. It’s noteworthy that the VA has not yet approved such procedures, as evidenced by documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
For many years, the facility has provided hormone therapy, minor surgeries, hair removal, and various treatments as part of its ongoing efforts to broaden medical procedures aimed at the approximately 12,500 veterans nationwide who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, according to documents obtained by the DCNF through public records requests.
However, the documents and emails reveal that the VA medical center at Puget Sound also projected costs of $642,562 in 2023 and over $1.5 million by 2027 in an initial proposal submitted to the VA’s healthcare system, with the aim of securing funding for the establishment of a genital surgery center, the outlet reported.
The Veterans Affairs Puget Sound facility submitted a request to the Veteran’s Health Administration (VHA) National Surgery Office (NSO) for financial support. The funding would be utilized for contracting surgeons, acquiring equipment, and recruiting nurses and staff to establish what’s referred to as a Comprehensive Gender Affirming Surgical Center (CGASC), the documents show.
But, the DC reported, they didn’t provide clarity on whether the VA granted approval to Puget Sound’s application. A spokesperson for the VA stated that no facilities had implemented CGASCs.
“No VA facilities – including VA Puget Sound – have or are developing comprehensive gender-affirming care surgery centers,” VA spokesperson Terrence Hayes told the DCNF. “While the rulemaking process on gender-affirming surgery at VA is still underway, VA continues to provide all other types of gender-affirming care to Veterans.”
The VA has not yet put into action a proposal unveiled in 2021 aimed at broadening VA coverage of transgender procedures, encompassing significant surgeries. On Thursday, an advocacy group filed a lawsuit against the VA, citing the delay in implementing the rule. They argued that this delay in offering what they termed “life-saving” services to an estimated 4,000 veterans across the nation interested in major gender-affirming procedures would exacerbate their stress, the Military Times reported.
According to the documents, the VHA informed VA Puget Sound that funding specifically designated to support their ongoing transgender treatment programs was accessible for fiscal year 2023, which ended on September 30.
“Seattle is a sanctuary city for LGBTQ+ refugees from across the United States,” the proposal read, referring to a 2022 study that found Washington State housed the fourth highest population of veterans diagnosed with gender dysphoria. “Our facility is committed to continuing and expanding these medically necessary, lifesaving services,” the proposal stated, according to the DC.
