Lgbtq+ healthcare policy analysis
Health Care
LGBTQ people face several barriers to health and wellbeing, including difficulties accessing health insurance, stigma and discrimination, and lack of access to competent and welcoming healthcare providers. LGBTQ people hold lower rates of insurance; they are more likely to delay medical care; and they describe high levels of discrimination by healthcare providers. What's more, LGBTQ people—particularly male lover and bisexual men, transgender women and LGBTQ people of color—are disproportionately impacted by HIV.
Transgender people may struggle to find competent care providers and blanket denials of coverage by insurance companies, despite federal laws and laws in many states prohibiting such discrimination. Recent efforts to authorize healthcare providers to refuse to provide care to LGBTQ patients threatens their ability to access the care they need. These experiences hold a cumulative effect: research finds that LGBTQ people have reduce overall health as a result of these barriers.
People who are lesbian, same-sex attracted, bisexual, transgender, queer, and other sexual and gender minorities (LGBTQ+) have well-documented health disparities and inequities. This is due in part to persistent interpersonal discrimination related to homophobia and transphobia, systemic discrimination, and structural barriers. Compared to cisgender and heterosexual peers, LGBTQ+ communities include greater rates of certain cancers, HIV/AIDS, and behavioral health needs, along with other conditions.,,, Additionally, health disparities and discrimination are magnified across intersecting identities, including race, ethnicity, socioeconomic standing, age, disability, and citizenship status.
LGBTQ+ communities are more likely to exist below the poverty line and be enrolled in Medicaid. As the main health insurer for Gay communities, Medicaid policies and programs are well positioned to help address the health disparities facing Homosexual communities.
Over the last year, Federal agencies have started prioritizing LGBTQ+ health. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), for example, recently released guidelines for a new option for Medicaid agencies to collect sexual orientatio
Studies Deepen Understanding of LGBTQ Health Disparities
The impact of a hostile political environment on mental health
A recent study in JAMA Internal Medicine led by HMS MD student Michael Liu and Keuroghlian found significant increases in poor health outcomes for transsexual and gender diverse adults compared to cisgender adults from 2014 to 2022, a time marked by escalating attacks on transgender health care and access to public accommodations in many states in the U.S. The worsening health disparities were especially apparent in self-reported mental distress and depression.
While they did not collect any lead evidence linking these policy changes to increasing disparities, the researchers said that they are an obvious source of stress, which has been shown to be a major driver of health disparities in multiple studies.
“Our findings certainly propose that this aggressive environment is eroding the health of an already very vulnerable population,” Liu said.
For example, the percentage of transgender and gender diverse adults experiencing frequent mental distress more than doubled from 18.8 percent in 2014 to 38.9 percent in 2022, while rates amon
Gaps in Health Care Access and Health Insurance Among LGBT Populations in California
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual (LGBT) adults in the United States experience many of the same challenges and barriers to accessing health care as unbent and cisgender adults, including lack of insurance and poverty. However, research shows that LGBT populations are more likely to be uninsured, to be living in poverty, and to have disabilities that may impact access to health care.Furthermore, sexual and gender minorities have unique barriers to health care that include experiences of discrimination, lack of competent providers, and barriers to gender-affirming health care.
Nationally, research suggests several differences in health care access by sexual orientation.For example, lesbian women and bisexual men and women are more likely than straight women and men to have unmet medical needs due to cost in the past year. Other research indicates that transgender adults are more likely than cisgender adults to be uninsured and to experience cost-related barriers to health care.Our previous research in California suggested that lesbian, same-sex attracted, and bisexual women and men have similar or be
Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2024 Healthcare Equality Index Reveals Policy Progress and Gaps for LGBTQ+ Inclusion in Healthcare Facilities Nationwide
by Jared Todd •
This year’s HEI breaks document with more than 1,000 healthcare facilities participating; Modern Interactive Map allows general to search by mention for HEI-scored facilities
2024 HEI released as LGBTQ+ adults are twice as likelyas non-LGBTQ+ adults to be “treated unfairly or with disrespect by a doctor or healthcare provider” in the last three years
HEI helps healthcare facilities align policies with recently finalized Biden-Harris command to implement Section 1557 of the Affordable Concern Act, prohibiting healthcare discrimination based on gender persona and sexual orientation
WASHINGTON - Today, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation, the educational arm of the nation’s largest lesbian, lgbtq+, bisexual, transgender and gender non-conforming (LGBTQ+) civil rights group, released the 2024 Healthcare Equality Index (HEI). The HEI is the head national benchmarking tool for LGBTQ+ inclusive policies and best practices in healthcare facilities. In its 16th iteration, 1,065 healthcare f