Healthcare for Transgender Individuals                    

The Union government has announced that under the Ayushman Bharat program, transgender people will receive yearly health insurance of Rs. 5 lakhs.

About the recent decision

• There are 4.8 lakh transgender people in India who are eligible for the program's benefits.

Memorandum of understanding

• A memorandum of agreement on this program was signed between the Social Justice Ministry and the National Health Authority, which is part of the Health Ministry.

Coverage:

• Surgery for sex reassignment will also be covered by the insurance.
• There will be more hospitals on board to perform sex reassignment procedures. Services would be made available at AIIMS and other hospitals.
• The family members of transgender people are not covered by health cards issued to them.
• Those who possess a transgender certificate issued by the National Portal for Transgender People would be eligible for benefits.
• The program will cover all transgender people who are not eligible for such benefits under existing centre- or state-sponsored programs.

Defining Modification:

• To give transgender people full yearlong coverage, the government modified the definition of the family.

Important concerns with this choice

• Misleading statistics Only 2% of the 4.8 lakh total, which comes from the 2011 census, have received certificates from the Social Justice Ministry thus far.

Very few skilled surgeons:

• Even if others are successful in obtaining their cards, the issue is that there aren't many facilities that offer sex reassignment surgery, and there aren't many competent plastic surgeons in the nation.

Challenges the transgender community face:                                             

• Discrimination and ostracism: These people experience discrimination at work, in educational institutions, and in their own homes, which hurts their general well-being.
• Identity crisis: Despite the government approving the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, which grants the community the right to self-perceived gender identity, individuals are frequently forced to identify with a gender with which they are not connected at work.
• Social stigma: They frequently encounter obstacles while trying to adopt a child or inherit property. They are forced into sex work or menial occupations despite having strong credentials since they are socially rejected.
• Unemployment: Due to the associated societal stigma, the community has few employment options and experiences severe discrimination at work.
• Lack of public amenities: They have trouble accessing public restrooms and other public areas. In hospitals, schools, and prisons, they frequently encounter issues.

Initiatives in India for Transgender People:

• The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019 was passed by Parliament to eradicate discrimination against transgender people in the areas of access to healthcare, work, and education. It also recognizes the right to one's own self-perceived gender identity.

Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020:

• The government drafted it to give effect to the 2019 Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act's provisions.

Transgender National Council:

• The National Council for Transgender Persons has been established by the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act of 2019 to provide advice to the Central Government on the formulation and assessment of policies, programs, laws, and projects for the welfare of the transgender community
• Reservations for the transgender community would be made under the OBC category of employment, according to the Union government.

National Transgender Resource Center:

• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has created a webpage to help members of the transgender community apply for a Certificate and Identity card electronically from any location in the nation.
• They may track the progress of their application using the Portal, ensuring procedural transparency.

Garima Greh:

• The program's goal is to give transgender people a place to live with basic necessities like food, shelter, medical care, and recreational amenities.
• Additionally, it will encourage the development of people's skills and capacities, enabling them to live lives of respect and dignity in the Community.

Way Forward

• The government has taken several actions to put in place a set of five assurances: education, a dignified life, health support, opportunities for a living, and skill enhancement.
• Dignified life and livelihood: By giving marginalized and disadvantaged groups of the population a dignified life and livelihood, these measures are ensuring that they can escape from constrictive societal structures.
• Effectiveness: The council must be able to identify and address the difficulties that the community is facing, and both the state and civil society must work to ensure this.
• Society needs to be made aware that the community is a part of us and that we are co-equals through social engineering.

Also, Read - Sex Ratio at Birth