Plume Clinic Partners with Trans Health HQ for PlumeCon ‘25

Trans Health HQ is thrilled to have partnered with Plume Clinic for PlumeCon ’25, a 3-day, trans-led virtual conference for the transgender & gender-diverse community.

Morgan Willison (Product & Analytics) and Ivan Hsiao, MPH (Founder & CEO) shared an overview of key barriers to accessing gender-affirming care, and practical tools and strategies to help community members prepare for the process in the workshop, “Navigating Healthcare Access: Tips for Practical Self-Advocacy & Safety.”

A few takeaways from the workshop:
🏳️‍⚧️ Access is a journey, not a single step. We walked through common care milestones such as identifying sources of payment for healthcare, finding affirming providers that match your finances and insurance, and navigating the insurance process, including how to best work with your healthcare team during the prior authorization process.

🏳️‍⚧️ Self-advocacy tools can reduce barriers. We shared practical scripts and strategies for intake calls and consults where sensitive, personal, and possibly activating conversations may need to be had. Community members walked away with a better sense of how certain identifying information may be used and how to minimize the risk of compromising private information.

🏳️‍⚧️ Working with health plans is a journey, and preparation is key. Whether it's making sure clinicians have accurate information on the letters of support, or knowing how to appeal any denials - we broke down the prior authorization process, how to progress in the internal/external appeals process, and how to stay organized with documentation.

🏳️‍⚧️ Community + trustworthy information can save lives. Decentralized and inaccurate information can lead to care avoidance, and navigation tools like the Trans Health HQ Access & Information Hub help people find the information they need to make decisions about their healthcare, and take the next steps for their health and wellbeing.

Thank you Plume Clinic (Rai Dang, Summer Johnson, our moderator Elizer, and more people than we can list here!) for building a space that centers trans knowledge, safety, and care. We’re honored to be part of this work and excited to keep pushing toward a world where affirming care is the default, not the exception.

Such an honor to do this work alongside incredible leaders and organizations like Renée Yoxon, Gala Pride & Diversity Center and Allminds at Plume Clinic's PlumeCon!