Transgender people living in rural Minnesota face significant health care challenges, and are much more likely to be uninsured according to the experts.
As part of WCCO Radio In-Depth this week, Taylor Rivera is taking a closer look at their challenges.
Planned Parenthood North Central States is one of the largest gender care providers in the Midwest, and Associate Medical Director Nicole Chaisson says the telehealth options have been ground breaking for patients.
"It was a game changer for a lot of our gender affirming care patients, who are like, 'oh my God, I don't have to drive two hours,'" says Chaisson.
But still, she says hurdles like health insurance can play a role in the quality of care rural Minnesotans get.
"There's a lot of prior authorizations to support people's medications, or needing multiple letters that say very specific things on them to support somebody getting their gender affirming surgery paid for," Chaisson tells WCCO Radio.
While Minnesota is regarded as a leader in providing gender affirming care, providers believe policymakers still need to better address the needs of rural transgender populations.
Chaisson says sometimes cultural disparities within those communities makes things hard for patients.
"Even in their provider in town provided gender affirming care, if they weren't ready to be fully out yet, that may be a hard step for them," she says.
Telehealth manager Carrie Kneisl says while their virtual clinic visits have helped better serve rural patients, insurance providers and policy makers still have work to do.
"Just in the healthcare system in general, patients are always facing barriers to care, and one of the biggest gaps in healthcare is simply access," explained Kneisl.
In Part 2 of WCCO In-Depth, we'll explore transgender youth living in rural Minnesota who can often face significant stigmas in their community.