TAKE ACTION: ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTHCARE
LGBT people do not have equal access to quality healthcare and often face financial, personal and cultural barriers when attempting to access health care.
Lack of access includes a number of factors:
- Many health professionals are not sensitive to the LGBT health concerns and may not be trained in how to work LGBT patients.
- Because of the fear of homophobia, transphobia, and discrimination, LGBT people often withhold personal information from health care providers. This can include information such as sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, sexual and behavioral risks.
- LGBT couples and families are at a disadvantage in obtaining medical insurance compared to heterosexual couples since many insurance companies and employers do not provide domestic partnership benefits.
These problems are compounded because:
- LGBT people may be at increased risk for certain forms of cancers including (lung, cervical, breast, and anal cancer) due to a higher prevalence of smoking, being overweight, and inadequate risk assessment and health care screenings.
- LGBT people also have increased risk of stress-related mental health problems and substance abuse due to the impact of homophobia, transphobia, and discrimination.
- Older LGBT people in same-sex relationships are at high risk of economic devastation due to an absence of Medicaid funds afforded to legalized partners.
There are ways of seeking culturally competent healthcare:
- Check out National Coalition for LGBT Health members. See if any of them are near you and call them for a local referral.
- If you have insurance, ask your insurer carrier if they know which doctors have experience working with LGBT people.
- Contact your local community health center and ask if they have experience working with LGBT people.
- Contact your local LGBT community center and see if they maintain a referral network.
TAKE ACTION! LGBT people deserve access to culturally competent healthcare!
For more information, please see:
Gay and Lesbian Association
(www.glma.org)
The National Association
of LGBT Community Center (www.lgbtcenters.org)
The National Coalition
for LGBT Health (www.lgbthealth.net)