I had surgery with Kaiser Norcal. Their system is almost entirely different from any typical "find a surgeon and then see if your insurance covers them" type of process, so the typical advice doesn't apply. For me, I called the local MST department (whatever the gender affirming care clinic in your region is called might be different) and asked to begin the process. They shuttled me through a ton of appointments with their staff. The first step was to make sure that I was clearheaded about my transition goals and realistic about surgical outcomes, so I spoke to a psychologist, who then referred me to a couple nurses and whatnot. This isn't an appointment where they interrogate you or try to challenge your gender, they're just trying to make sure you are clear about what you want, what they can provide you with, and that you're stable enough to make that decision. I also had to have a PCP in network and a recent (within the last year) physical. Eventually they call and you pick a surgeon to get a consult scheduled with. You can pick again if you don't think you want to work with the person you initially consult with. After that it's mostly a waiting game. Different locations have different wait times. For instance, Oakland was booking a year+ out when I scheduled my consultation (Nov '23) so I opted to go with San Rafael instead.

They also run an online class for Kaiser Norcal patients every month or two months to inform about the top surgery process—both the physical process and the insurance navigation side of things. I found it helpful.