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In this May 29, 2014 photo, Denee Mallon, center, participates in a candlelight vigil organized by Albuquerque Pride in Albuquerque, N.M. A U.S. Department of Health and Services review board ruled Friday, May 30, in favor of Mallon, a 74-year-old Army veteran, whose request to have Medicare pay for her genital reconstruction was denied two years ago. The decision recognizes sex reassignment surgeries as a medically necessary and effective treatment for individuals who do not identify with their biological sex. (AP Photo/Craig Fritz)

Medicare ban on sex reassignment surgery lifted

By LISA LEFF - Associated Press

Ayden Prehara, talks with his parents, Todd and Chris, in his bedroom in Fitchburg, Wis., on Jan. 3, 2014. Prehara, 16, is a transgender student, having transitioned from female to male at age 14. This June, Ayden and his parents will travel to Cleveland for what, in the transgender community, is called "top surgery." His breasts will be flattened and his chest contoured to be more typically male. He will be 17 by then, about the earliest surgeons will do such surgery. Until then, he wears an undergarment called a binder that evens out his chest. The family is setting aside about $10,000 for the surgery, which includes a week or so in a Cleveland hotel during recovery, said Chris Prehara. Insurance does not cover any of it, she said. (Associated Press/Wisconsin State Journal, John Hart)

Medicare coverage ban on sex-change surgery lifted

By Lisa Leff - Associated Press