Who writes this, and how to reach them
This site is written pseudonymously. The person writing it is not a lawyer and does not work for an insurer. What is behind it is one multi-year fight with a commercial insurer over gender-affirming surgery — a 55-page appeal, an external review, and a single case agreement signed the day before a court date — plus the reading that fight required.
That is the basis of knowledge and also its limit: one plan, one state, one set of procedures. Everything here is checked against the regulation rather than against that experience, which is why each page lists its sources and says when they were last read.
Corrections go to [email protected]. If you are a clinician, an advocate, or a lawyer and something here is wrong, that address is the fastest way to fix it for everyone reading after you. General questions go to [email protected]. Neither address can give you advice about your own denial, and no reply should be read as legal advice.
What this is
Plain-language explanations of insurance mechanics, organized by the kind of plan you have and the kind of denial you got, with templates you can fill in.
The site exists because the accurate material that already exists is written in a legal register, formatted for a desktop, and organized around legal topics rather than around what a reader is holding in their hand.
What this is not
Not a law firm, not a clinic, not a referral service, not a crisis line. See the scope page. If you need one now: Trans Lifeline is peer support run by trans people, at (877) 565-8860 in the US and (877) 330-6366 in Canada, and they have a stated policy against nonconsensual active rescue — they will not call police or emergency services without your agreement. You do not have to be in crisis to call.
How it is built
Static pages. No analytics, no tag manager, no tracking pixel, no forms, and no accounts. The site collects nothing about you because it has nowhere to put it.
Three features can reach beyond the page. Search stays on this server. Translation loads Google Translate and sends the page you are reading to Google, but only if you open the language menu. The provider map is Google Maps, and loading it tells Google your IP and where the map is centered — it does not load until you press a button that says so, and the list view shows the same providers without it. The privacy policy says exactly what each one does.
It also makes no claim that your visit is private. Your browser history, your network, and your device are outside anything this site controls.
Where the legal information comes from
Legal claims are held in one place and carry a jurisdiction, an effective date, a citation, and a verification status. Anything not yet checked against a primary source is marked as such, and pages resting on unverified claims say so.
Common questions
- Can you help with my specific denial?
- No. This site explains mechanisms; it does not advise individuals. For a blanket exclusion, a Medicaid fair hearing, or a Medicare appeal, get representation.
- How current is this?
- Every page carries a last-updated date, and pages with legal content carry the date the underlying claim was last checked.