A transgender doctor is speaking out after facing unending challenges with three different insurance companies who have refused to reimburse her claims for her patient care since she legally changed her name.
Dr. Tiffany Najberg runs a Shreveport, Louisiana clinic called UrgentEMS, where she treats over 100 trans patients and provides both primary and urgent care.
Najberg told NBC News that she has spent about $200,000 (her whole life savings) to keep the clinic open while she continues to battle with Cigna, Aetna, and Humana.
Najberg changed her name in April 2021 and said she has had no trouble obtaining reimbursements for patient care from Blue Cross Blue Shield, United, Medicaid, and Medicare.
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Humana, Aetna, and Cigna, on the other hand, have continued to cause problems.
“They were flagging each claim and rejecting it because of a name incompatibility with their internal database. They did not change my deadname,” she explained, adding that they would not help her figure out the process to update her name in their databases. She also sent them as much official paperwork as she could to prove her legal change, but the companies would still not reimburse her or update her deadname.
The battle has waged on for two years. At this point, Najberg said she is surviving off of GoFundMe campaigns and is at risk of losing her home and business. Her practice has not been able to expand telehealth services as originally planned, and she herself has lost her health and dental insurance.
At a loss for what to do, Najberg ultimately turned to the internet for help. She began posting TikTok videos explaining her predicament and also started a petition on Change.org. Over 12,000 people have signed on to her call for the insurance companies to end their alleged discriminatory practices.
“My clinic WILL BE FORCED TO shut down because of their flat refusal to honor the court judgement for my legal name change as a transgender physician,” Najberg wrote in the petition, “despite it being recognized by the following entities: the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, the Louisiana Department of Motor Vehicles, the United States Social Security Administration, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Louisiana State Board of Pharmacy, the American Board of Emergency Medicine, the American College of Emergency Physicians, my residency program (LSU New Orleans), my medical school (Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine), NPPES, PECOS, NPI, CAHQ, and two other insurance companies (Blue Cross and United).”
She also called out the double standard of the situation, stating, “If I was a cisgender woman who had gotten married, a name change would be routine.”
“Instead,” she continued, “they have withheld over a hundred and fifty thousand dollars in payments, an amount the loss of which my small start up clinic, which serves many marginalized communities, cannot survive.”
The attention and support Najberg received due to the petition and her TikTok videos led all three insurance companies to contact her and ultimately agree to reimburse her for the claims – though Najberg emphasized she has yet to receive any checks.
