Publicly funded gender-affirming care is great for the economy

"According to the data, trans Australians who haven't started hormone therapy are 3.2-7 times more likely to access mental health services for issues such as gender dysphoria. On average, unmedicated trans people use between 1.6 and 3.6 mental health services, including GP mental health plans or psychologist visits, each year. In comparison, the average Australian uses one service every two years."

"The study's authors used these findings, as well as anonymous Medicare records on gender-affirming treatments between 2021-2024, to estimate the average financial burden on taxpayers caused by routine usage of mental health services. The records suggest that, during that period, over 20,300 people aged 15+ started feminising hormones, over 11,800 started masculinising hormones, 2,872 adults underwent top surgery, while 826 underwent gender confirmation surgery."

"Using the standard $100 cost for psychologist visits compared to gender-affirming treatment costs, they discovered the government was spending anywhere between $30-260 less per person after starting hormones. This translated to gender-affirming surgeries, too. The government reportedly spends over $1,700 less on mental health coverage for trans patients after they had top surgery. For gender confirmation surgeries, it was saving around $3,416 per person over the following five years."

Publicly funded, appropriate gender-affirming care for transgender people can reduce taxpayer spending and improve economic outcomes by lowering psychological-distress–related costs. Trans Australians who have not started hormone therapy are 3.2–7 times more likely to use mental health services for issues such as gender dysphoria. Unmedicated trans people use between 1.6 and 3.6 mental health services annually, compared with the average Australian using one service every two years. After starting hormone therapy, service use declines by 0.3–2.6 visits on average. Medicare records from 2021–2024 show thousands initiated hormones or surgeries and per-person mental health spending dropped substantially, yielding roughly $42 million in Medicare savings.

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