The VA is no longer funding gender dysphoria

https://news.va.gov/press-room/va-to-phase-out-treatment-for-gender-dysphoria/

Important read. The VA is no longer going to use taxpayer dollars to fund veterans gender dysphoria. They state that they will treat any veteran and encourage veterans to come see the VA for their care, but if you want cross sex hormones and gender reassignment surgery…..that is on your own dime now.

My question: when did our tax dollars pay for this to begin with? In a world where people cannot even get an MRI without 12 prior auth requests and denials……how do our tax dollars just willingly go to paying for gender reassignment surgeries? How is that not an out of pocket expense? The few patients I treat/treated who were adult age and who had gender reassignment surgery had to pay for that out of pocket. Their private insurance did not cover it. It never has. Why is veteran insurance funded by government/tax dollars doing so?? Why can my veteran patients at the VA not get their pain treated properly, but people are getting gender reassignment?