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Tempe Expands Health Benefits For Trans Employees

(Photo courtesy of City of Tempe)

The city of Tempe has expanded its health-care benefits to meet the needs of transgender employees.

Tempe joins a growing list of cities throughout the country that are adding transgender-related treatment to their health plans. That includes psychological services and gender reassignment. The benefits will apply to employees and their dependents.

Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell said they had been receiving inquiries about the lack of fully inclusive benefits.

“This change really is about fairness and making sure our employees and their families are treated equally when it comes to our benefits and personal health-care needs, and that’s exactly what this does,” Mitchell said.

Earlier this year, the city of Phoenix also broadened its benefits to include health-care for trans employees.

Will Stone was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2015 to 2019.