Google has announced that it will increase the budget for transgender related healthcare benefits from $35,000 to $75,000.

The policy will cover a broad range of transgender surgeries and treatments including facial feminization surgery and pectoral implants for men.  Google has been a progressive company in the past on LGBT issues, with action including submitting a brief against the Defense of Marriage Act, and posting about Transgender Day of Remembrance as far back as 2008.

Human Rights Campaign has a list of companies offering transgender health benefits, although it’s a rapidly changing list.  Like same sex partner benefits, this is only going to be beneficial to the companies in the end.  There are brilliant transgender software engineers, doctors, and writers, just like there are brilliant cisgendered software engineers, doctors, and writers.  The companies that offer the transgender health benefits are going to have transgender people more eager to work for their company, and I’m willing to bet that the benefit will outweigh the costs.