Elizabeth Poucher brought a petition asking for the House to conduct an inquiry into the availability of health insurance for transgender people's care related to transitioning.

She said that transgender people were often unable to get cover for things such as breast cancer, which were affected by hormone treatment, although a male-to-female transgender person was no more at risk than a cisgender woman. Poucher said that while people could sometimes get cover for other pre-existing conditions if they were willing to pay a premium loading, that was not the case for transgender people.

Health Funds Association chief executive Roger Styles said insurers had to be able to offer an affordable product that was appealing to people to voluntarily purchase.

Transgender care was excluded because of the high cost of the transition process, he said, and the risk of adverse selection. People who thought they might transition would take out cover that would pay for it, loading insurers with extra risk.

He said insurers did not agree with Poucher that this was discrimination.

If it were to work, it would need to be offered as a module – similar to non-Pharmac drugs – he said, which would be expensive for customers, or by insurers asking questions at the underwriting stage. But that process could end up excluding the people who would need it, he said. "Neither would bring the benefit this petitioner is seeking."

Poucher said the proportion of transgender people in the population was not high enough to pose a financial problem to insurance. She said the current situation made it hard for people to get basic health needs met. "Paying for [gender reassignment] surgery would be great but I'm just asking for us to be able to get cover full stop."