Should Health Insurance Providers Pay For Sex-Change Operations?

Health insurance is supposed to cover medical need.   The medical need transgenders claim is the same claim a flat chested woman who wants breasts or a small penis man who wants a larger penis.

Are their equal medical situation going to be given the same treatment?

James, I don't know if you chose the image to go with your article or not, but if you truly believe that you aren't a doctor and will not taking a position on, then you need to get it taken down. It has no relevance to the story other than it is an anti-trans image that is hurtful and derogatory and serves only to bias the readership against the woman your article is about by suggesting that she may look something like that image or that access or denial of medical care should be based on someone's looks to begin with.  Even without the image, the article stirs up bigotry, but with this image you fall from New York Post standards to 4chan standards.

"We're not doctors, and will not be taking side on this one"Someone should tell that to whoever chose that graphic.  And whoever approved the "born a man" line.  I mean, come on, that must have been one hell of a pregnancy?  If true that should have been the headline "Woman gives birth to man"!  But somehow I doubt it was true.  More likely she was born a baby and the Village Voice is choosing to use inaccurate and inflammatory language along with a bigoted and hurtful graphic while ineffectively claiming to be neutral.

The Village Voice: so forward thinking you'll SWEAR it's 20 years ago!

James, you're a moron. I just had to drop by and say that. :)Ida, I just won my own arbitration case, congratulations! :D 

Tabloid masquerading as real news?  Haha!  Funny.  Actually... not.  It's just sad.

Apparently they laid off the heart and soul of the VV after all. http://observer.com/2012/08/village-voice-layoffs-08172012/

What disgusting, bigoted article!!  The village voice just became the voice of hatred and intolerance! 

That photo is shameful. Hurry up and die, Voice. 

Shame on the Village Voice. This is reporting worthy of the tabloids.

This is really too bad. A woman receiving a settlement in her favor, for necessary medical treatment, isn't an opportunity to mock with transphobic images. 

Wish I could say I was surprised, all I can say is I'm disgusted. Shame on you for such a foul piece of transphobia.

WTF is this hate speech. Man in a dress jokes? REALLY?

Your tags purport to be reporting on healthcare and transgender legal rights in this piece, but it would more accurately be tagged "hate speech" and "transphobia". This post is obviously only written to gain attention to the Village Voice, when perhaps actual reporting might do the trick. (For example, if anyone is born a man, or a woman, I'll eat my hat.) Yet another instance of the gay community treating trans people like dirt. Your insulting graphic libelously implies that Ms. Hammer is actually a man masquerading as a woman, when she is actually a woman in need of medical procedures.

shame on you, village voice. this post is phobic and bullshit. "dude looks like a lady" ? really?