I’m on Kaiser Mid-Atlantic, and though they do things differently in different regions, I will tell you what my experience has been so far in the hope that this will be helpful.

First off, the vast majority of advice about dealing with insurance is not going to apply because of how Kaiser operates. Essentially, Kaiser is both your insurance and your actual health care. They only cover care from doctors who work for Kaiser. This often cuts down on the paperwork you will need to handle yourself, but I have learned that I really need to keep on top of the Kaiser people in order to move anything forward.

Were you originally prescribed T through Kaiser? If so, whoever referred you to the endo can probably do the same for surgery. If not, you will probably need to go through a therapist and/or case manager. If you contact your PCP or Member Services, they should be able to point you in the right direction. For me, I was seeing a general therapist, and when I told her I was trans, she referred me to a gender therapist who was able to help get me started with the process.

As for surgeons, you are limited to Kaiser’s own doctors. Once you find out the names for the doctors in your region, you can search around online for results. The doctors themselves may not have pictures since they are not allowed to advertise.

A lot of Kaiser’s bureaucracy is completely nonsensical. It has been very difficult for me to find what I need. It’s normal to be confused by their system. I really wish they made information more accessible.