Government "invests" in hormones amid public hospital crisis

Politiko.al

The Ministry of Health has approved the guideline for the provision of hormonal therapy for transgender people at the "Mother Teresa" University Hospital Center. For the first time in Albania, the treatment will be offered in the public system and will be carried out at the Endocrinology service at the University Hospital Center.

According to the document, the therapy will be accessible to transgender men transitioning from female to male through testosterone, as well as to transgender women transitioning from male to female through estrogen and anti-androgens.

Therapy starts at the age of 16.

The protocol stipulates that treatment can usually begin at the age of 16, and in special cases even at the age of 14, after specialized assessments and family approval.

Before starting therapy, patients must undergo laboratory tests, medical and psychosocial assessments, and sign an informed consent document regarding the possible long-term effects and consequences of treatment.

Physical changes and health risks

According to the guidelines, hormone therapy causes gradual physical changes over the first few months and years of treatment. Transgender men may experience deepening of the voice, hair growth, and increased muscle mass, while transgender women may experience breast development, skin softening, and a reduction in body hair.

The document also warns of health risks such as cardiovascular problems, hypertension, metabolic disorders and thromboembolic complications. For this reason, continuous medical monitoring is foreseen, especially during the first year of treatment.

Treatment covered by public funds

The initial guidance states that hormone therapy will be covered by public funds through mandatory health insurance. Until now, many transgender people in Albania have turned to private clinics abroad to undergo hormone treatments.

However, the Ministry of Health later issued another clarification, emphasizing that the document is only a clinical guideline and not a final therapeutic protocol.

Tomini: There is no reimbursement scheme

Deputy Minister of Health, Eugena Tomini, stated that the document does not define a reimbursement scheme for hormonal medications and that the guideline refers only to adults in this target group.

According to her, the document was drafted based on international practices and aims to guide healthcare professionals in recommending hormonal treatment.

Public hospitals in crisis

The decision has sparked intense public debate, as it comes at a time when the Albanian healthcare system is facing numerous problems. Complaints about a lack of medicines, beds, equipment, and dilapidated conditions in hospitals have become constant.

Patients and family members have been reporting for years that in many cases they are forced to purchase basic medical supplies themselves, while patients with serious diagnoses face a lack of treatments and vital medications.

Reactions against the initiative

Activist Marinela Pasbakhsh spoke out against the initiative, emphasizing that it would lead to a massacre of children, as has happened in the US.

She also pointed out the fact that this therapy will be offered in a country that has no money for morphine for cancer patients.

"One thing we should not be silent about and accept is a very serious thing, because you will face the consequences in 5 years, your child on the verge of adolescence will be indoctrinated in school, the whole society will be working against your role as a parent. You will lose the voice you have, the love you have."

Stand up and take it very seriously, don't accept this, it's shameful. We are talking about an Albania that doesn't have the finances to finance morphine for patients in the last stage of cancer. We are talking now, that millions of euros will go to butcher our children. This is horror.

"Stand up, parents, because you will see the consequences in America. Changing gender at 14 years old is terrible. Advice from the heart, don't accept it," said the activist.

Debate on health priorities

The decision on hormone therapy has reignited the discussion on the priorities of the Albanian healthcare system. How can new services be financed while public hospitals continue to face basic shortages and citizens complain about minimal services?

In many wards of Albanian hospitals, patients continue to denounce the lack of medicines, tests, hygiene and basic conditions, making the debate even stronger on how public funds are being directed in healthcare.