At QueerDoc, we’re no strangers to navigating a healthcare system steeped in capitalism. As a trans-led clinic committed to offering expert, individualized, and affirming care, we’ve always sought to balance accessibility with sustainability. Today, we’re sharing an important update to our sliding scale pricing—a decision grounded in our unwavering commitment to serving the trans and gender diverse community with care, compassion, and transparency.
Why the Change?
Healthcare is expensive—and that burden weighs especially heavily on systemically undervalued communities. Like many of you, we’ve felt the squeeze of inflation and rising operational costs, from staffing and training to maintaining our telemedicine platform. Unfortunately, recent political and right-wing attacks on trans and queer communities have also driven up expenses for our clinic. Rising malpractice insurance premiums, security measures, and legal costs are the direct result of these systemic and targeted threats.
As a small, independent business, we’re not funded by investors or big corporate backers. Every dollar paid to QueerDoc stays within our clinic, directly supporting our six-person team—five trans folks and one token super-rad cis queer person—and the infrastructure that allows us to provide expert, affirming care. Our team works tirelessly to deliver accessible, trauma-informed, and culturally humble care to a community often underserved by traditional healthcare systems.
Because our clinic is made up of trans and queer providers—many of whom live at the intersections of multiple systemically undervalued identities—we are deeply committed to ensuring that our team is equitably compensated for their expertise, labor, and emotional resilience. We refuse to undervalue the work that makes QueerDoc a place of care, affirmation, and support for every patient we serve. To sustain this mission and continue showing up for our community, we’ve made the tough but necessary decision to narrow our sliding scale. This adjustment ensures QueerDoc remains a reliable and affirming resource for the long haul.
What’s New?
Effective January 1, 2024, here’s how our sliding scale pricing will look:
- Adult New Patient Visits: Suggested price of $400, with a sliding scale range of $300–$500.
- Adolescent New Patient Visits: Suggested price of $600, with a sliding scale range of $400–$800.
- Adult Follow-Up Appointments: Suggested price of $250, with a sliding scale range of $200–$300.
- Adolescent Follow-Up Appointments: Suggested price of $400, with a sliding scale range of $300–$500.
How Does the Sliding Scale Work?
The sliding scale is a tool rooted in economic justice and equity, designed to make expert, affirming healthcare more accessible. To help you decide what to pay within the range, we recommend reflecting on where you fall in terms of financial privilege and stability.
Here’s where the Green Bottle graphic can help:
- If your financial situation looks like the left bottle (e.g., you have expendable income, regular access to healthcare, and the ability to save, vacation, and meet all basic needs without stress), we encourage you to pay at the upper end of the range—or even above it. By paying more, you directly support others in the community who may be unable to meet their basic needs.
- If your financial situation looks like the middle bottle (e.g., you sometimes stress about money but can still meet your basic needs and occasionally save or spend on non-essential items), consider paying around the suggested price.
- If your financial situation looks like the right bottle (e.g., you frequently stress about or cannot meet basic needs, have debt that limits your stability, and little to no expendable income), paying at the lower end of the scale—or accessing additional financial support—may be the best option for you.
The sliding scale is open to everyone, no proof required, you will be able to choose your payment each appointment. This model honors economic diversity within the trans and gender diverse community and creates space for mutual aid, resilience, and solidarity.
Standing By Our Values
Adjusting our pricing wasn’t a decision we took lightly. We know firsthand how daunting healthcare costs can feel, especially when layered onto the many barriers trans people already face in accessing affirming care. Still, we’re committed to making this transition as accessible as possible by:
- Maintaining Transparency: QueerDoc will continue to publish our annual profit and loss statement so you can see exactly where your dollars go.
- Offering Resources: Need financial support? Check out our curated list of Funding Trans Healthcare and Alternative Care Options.
- Investing in Community: Donations through Point of Pride remain tax-deductible, directly funding care for TGD folks who need it most.
Together, We Build Better
We understand these changes may feel stressful. But here’s what we know: Community resilience and mutual aid are powerful tools for resisting the injustices of a broken healthcare system. Your ongoing support—whether as a patient, donor, or advocate—keeps QueerDoc thriving.
By choosing QueerDoc, you’re not just accessing expert, affirming care; you’re helping disrupt the cis-hetero-paternalistic status quo of healthcare. Together, we’re raising the bar in queer and gender affirming medicine—and we’re just getting started.
Thank you for trusting us with your care.
In solidarity,
The QueerDoc Team
