Health care services utilization by transgender patients in a medicaid managed program

Abstract

While challenges related to health care utilization among transgender individu-als have been discussed, studies examining health services under Medicaid are limited. A retrospective review was performed on all patients who presented with Gender Dysphoria from 2013–2018 to one Medicaid managed program. Utilization rates of distinct services and interventions were analyzed. A total of 192 patients, with 787 encounters, were identi-fied. Mean patient age was 15 years old. Mean number of encounters per patient was 4.1. The average number of distinct specialties seen was 1.4. Behavioral health (BH) services were most commonly utilized (50%). Endocrinology and surgical services were encoun-tered less frequently. Medications were prescribed for 25% of patients; hormonal treatment was prescribed for 6.7%. This study highlights the deficiencies in services this population is receiving under one managed Medicaid program. While behavioral health services are widely employed, underutilization of medical and surgical consultations compromises patient awareness of available interventions.