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@CrushBug -- Very good arguments in favor of absorbing the cost, even IF hormone therapy / gender reassignment is paid for by the military / government.

@entr0py -- Links that I've read from conventional news outlets claim that hormone therapy and gender reassignment were covered by military healthcare IF a doctor signed off on them as being medically necessary. An article I read about Chelsea Manning specifically stated that the hormone therapy was definitely paid for by the military, but that it wasn't 100% clear who paid the bill for her gender reassignment. I can't find that exact article, but here's another one from 2015 that suggests the same things:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/02/12/chelsea-manning-hormone-therapy/23311813/

Another article I read said that Obama issued an order / proclamation / whatever that the military would pay for those things if they were deemed medically necessary, which was a change from the former system (not covered). Not sure when/if that went into effect, but I think it must have. I'll look and see if I can find a link to that one.

I'm not saying that my info is right and yours is wrong, but it seems unclear. They (gender reassignment and hormone therapy) definitely weren't covered for a long time, but it seems like the hormone therapy was for sure at least in Manning's case.

Again, just to my personal opinion, I think the old system of "welcome to serve but we ain't paying for that stuff" was fine (ideal?). CrushBug presents a good argument for the military absorbing those costs since they are such a tiny fraction of the military budget (even though trans soldiers are arguably also a tiny fraction of the total).

Strangely enough, I'd pretty happily agree to those services being covered (if deemed medically necessary) as part of single-payer universal health care available to ALL CITIZENS. That would still be paying for them with tax dollars, but not tax dollars earmarked for military, which seems better to me somehow.

And again, I think Trump is 100% in the wrong for barring trans people from service simply for being trans. I agree that he's really just trying to rile up his base and trigger their righteous indignation. But, I do still basically think that the military paying for those services (or viagra / hair transplants / botox / cosmetic stuff, etc.) out of their budget is wrong. Even if amounts to a drop in the ocean that is military spending.

Yes, 15k soldiers is the number I have seen as well.

The other factor is the question about what that $8.4m is being used for. It sounds like you are assuming that it is for hormone replacement and/or gender reassignment, but I haven't heard if that is explicitly what the $8.4m is for, or if is the sum total of all annual trans health care in the military. That is something I would like clarified. It has only been stated as "the cost for health care for the 15k trans soldiers", so it is not clear.

I, too, would like to hear what is the Viagra "head" count. Hooooo!

I just think that it is a small price to pay (0.0017 %) of a $500b annual military budget, for people that are braver than myself, and willing to serve.

The problem is that this health care cost is so small, when you compare it their other health care costs.

DoD spent 1.9 billion on tobacco-related health care issues in 2009. I think that is more than the cost of health care for transgender troops.

They currently spend more on Viagra ($41.6m) than on health care for transgender troops ($8.4m).

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What pressure, exactly, is he exerting against China or N Korea?
As I understand it, he talked to the Chinese leaders for 10 minutes and declared this problem more difficult than anyone knew, like health care, and had no suggested solutions.

Also, yes, a joint UN statement, especially one with threats of sanctions, has been useful in the past to move nations in the direction we want them to move....or to isolate them like Iran. Instead, you seem to be defending Trump's lack of leadership by implying he would never uselessly grandstand....um.....have you seen him in action? Useless grandstanding and spouting off at the mouth is about all he does.

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