Staff report

The city of Rochester will add transgender health care benefits for employees and their families enrolled in the city medical plan, Mayor Lovely Warren announced Saturday at the Empire State Pride Agenda’s Spring Dinner.

Under the new coverage, effective Jan. 1, city employees will be eligible to receive services related to gender reassignment surgery, such as medical and psychological counseling, hormone therapy and cosmetic and reconstructive surgeries.

The initiative, approved by the city’s Labor Management Healthcare Committee in April, is part of a plan spearheaded by City Councilmember Matt Haag to raise the city’s Municipal Equality Index, which measures cities’ LGBT policies and inclusiveness.

“Eliminating barriers to health care is simply the right thing to do,” Warren said in a statement. “The city was the first to support domestic partnerships, and I am happy that we lead the effort to equalize benefits for all once again.”

The city updated its non-discrimination policy last year to include gender identity and gender expression and named a mayoral liaison to the LGBT community, who is currently Andreas Rau, staff assistant to the mayor.

“The inclusion of transition-related care in municipal benefits will improve the health and well-being of transgender employees and also send a message to the rest of our state that we need to provide medically necessary care to all transgender New Yorkers,” Nathan M. Schaefer, executive director of Empire State Pride Agenda, said in a statement. “Rochester has long been a leader on LGBT civil rights and this is just one more example of how this great city sets a strong example for the rest of New York state.”