President Drake has announced a new Presidential Policy on Gender Recognition and Lived Name. This new policy ensures that all individuals are identified by their accurate gender identity and lived or preferred name on university-issued documents and in UC’s information systems. The implementation of this policy officially began on November 6, 2020, the day it was issued, and full implementation of the policy and procedures must be completed no later than December 31, 2023. Additional details will be provided as they are available.
It is noted in Appendix 1 of the policy that “…some of the university’s health insurers only accept the options of male, female or unknown.” In fact, Health Net and CMS accept only male or female; their systems do not accept a “U” gender value. Unfortunately, we learned of this wording too late to have it changed before the policy was finalized.
Please note that UCPath will continue to send employees’ legal names on eligibility files to the health and welfare plan partners, due to federal regulations that mandate the use of legal name (for example, on 1095 forms, for FSA and COBRA compliance, etc.).