An Overarching Look At LGBTQ+ Health Insurance Right Now
There are many issues that revolve around LGBTQ health insurance and healthcare. But community members are starting to see drastic improvements after a long history of poor treatment and under treatment. The American citizens from this community have faced a long struggle to get access to proper healthcare. This struggle combines with the issues such as cultural competency and training of the health professionals in the nation and a history of discrimination and stigma against the community. It is starting to change in the present times. But there is still a long way to go. There must be better legislative protections and more training for professionals in the health insurance sector. Thus, most people from the community are still varied in the path ahead.
LGBTQ Health Insurance History
Looking at the history of the treatment of homosexuality in the health insurance industry shows the difficulties that members of the communities have seen when seeking care. Until recently, being homosexual was seen as deviant behavior or a mental illness. This meant that rather than getting the right access to medical care, any person who was found to be from the community risked being thrown into a mental asylum or jail to be subjected to so-called rehabilitation or treatment that could include lobotomy and hormonal castration. It could also include psychological treatments that include painful aversion therapy. More than half a century ago, the American Psychiatric Association listed homosexuality as a mental illness in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It was not until five years later it was removed from the manual. It took more than fifteen years for the association to stop using homosexuality as a diagnosis.
People from the transgender community were not mentioned in the manual till about forty years ago, when the world of transsexualism appeared there. Fourteen years later, the association replaced the work with a gender identity disorder. In the latest manual, the association removed gender identity disorder and replaced it with gender dysphoria. It helped to shift the focus to physical and mental distress that was felt by a lot of transgender people. The legal rights of the people from the community have expanded a lot since then. But a lot of individuals still struggle to get the right LGBTQ health insurance and healthcare providers who can address their pertinent concerns and issues. Getting the right insurance coverage for these issues can also be quite complicated. Most of the people from the community still face a lot of discrimination. They may not get the treatment for fear of being denied care or mistreated. That level of stress also increases the chances of anxiety and depression.
A survey regarding transgender people showed that nearly half of the people from the community had attempted suicide at some point during their lives. That same survey also found that nearly one-fourth of the people from the community had not sought out medical care over twelve months for fear of being mistreated. The laws of the nation have continued to evolve, and LGBTQ health insurance and healthcare professionals are getting the right training. So, the scenario is looking at gradual changes. In the meantime, it is vital to address the many issues facing the community now.
LGBTQ Health Insurance Protection
The medical field is coming to terms with the right health care issues for the community. So, it is vital to pass some laws that safeguard the community from any type of discrimination. Besides healthcare coverage, LGBTQ health insurance is another major issue for the community. The gaps in coverages mean that many individuals from the community may not have access to proper health care. The cost is also another big issue. Several studies have shown that nearly half of the people from the community are without proper health care because they cannot afford it. The momentum started building for private firms to be more proactive about any discrimination in healthcare policies two decades ago. This was after the Human Rights Campaign Foundation launched the Corporate Equality Index. This is a national survey that looks after the benefits and policies for people from the community. Fourteen years ago, a number of health associations started to issue strongly-worded statements regarding anti-discrimination. They called for more insurance policies of health insurance.
As a result, several insurance firms and carriers have started to make modifications that safeguard the overage healthcare rights of the people from the LGBTQ+ community. A survey of people from the community living below the poverty line shows that one-third were uninsured, and nearly half had medical debt. Currently, the expansion of the Affordable Care Act and the federal marriage equality legislation have played big roles in securing healthcare insurance coverage for each community member. The previous administration tried to roll back some of the regulations, some of which were related to non-discrimination. But the community remains safeguarded from such discrimination after the Department of Health and Human Service finalized the rules a couple of years ago. The rules expanded the definition of what was safeguarded under the non-discrimination clause of the Act.
Conclusion
A lot has been done regarding LGBTQ health insurance over the years. A lot still remains to be done. This is where the Equality Act comes into the scene. This comprehensive legislation would ban discrimination against people based on their gender identity or sexual orientation across several factors, including LGBTQ health insurance, housing, and education. The legislation has a lot of support across the entire nation. Nearly three-fourths of the citizens in the nation have said that they support laws that would safeguard the community from facing any widespread discrimination. This includes LGBTQ+ health care. The right legislation would greatly impact such issues for people from the community.
