For Immediate Release
December 15, 2003
Contact: Donald Hitchcock, (202) 797-3516

25 MEMBERS OF CONGRESS PRESS BUSH ADMINISTRATION
TO MEET GOALS ON LGBT HEALTH
Essential Data on LGBT Populations are not Collected;
Federal Officials Push for Explanation and Remedy

Washington, DC - A bipartisan coalition of 25 members of Congress has sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson requesting an explanation as to why the federal government is still not collecting critical health data on lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations and what steps HHS is taking to begin this data collection.

"As part of the nationís Healthy People 2010 plan, the federal government set a goal of eliminating disparities in health care for all Americans," said Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Ranking Member of the Committee for Government Reform. "However, HHS is not collecting the data we need to ensure that this goal is being met for the nationís lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender populations. Further, they have not provided Congress with an adequate explanation as to why they are not collecting these data."

"Last year, a bipartisan group of 19 House members asked Secretary Thompson to explain this apparent inability to gather needed information," said Rep. Waxman. "This year, 25 House members have asked the same question: why are these data not being collected and what will be done to improve the situation? We still have not received an adequate answer."

"Despite the Administrationís resistance to answering these questions, my colleagues and I will continue to work to ensure lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans receive the high-quality health care they deserve," Rep. Waxman said.

"Healthy People 2010 contains 29 objectives in 10 focus areas, and because of the limited inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in federal data collections, it is difficult or impossible to determine if we are making progress towards the LGBT health goals set in Healthy People 2010," said Henia Handler, Co-Chair of the National Coalition for LGBT Health. "HHS must address this problem and begin to collect the necessary data so that it may be incorporated into the five-year Midcourse Report on Healthy People 2010. We plan to remind the DHHS over and over again of the importance of this information until the Department institutes a plan to gather it."

"More data to assess progress on the Healthy People 2010 objectives related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people is a problem for which there is a solution," said Clinton Anderson, Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Concerns Officer of the American Psychological Association. "The solution is to include sexual orientation and gender identity as demographic variables in national surveys that monitor the nationís health, as well as in major federally supported health research projects, while continuing to support smaller scale research targeted specifically at the LGBT population. The federal government and a number of states and cities already have significant experience in this undertaking that can serve as the basis for moving forward to increase the knowledge needed to address health problems of a stigmatized and discriminated-against minority."


The National Coalition for LGBT Health is committed to improving the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals through federal advocacy that is focused on research, policy, education and training. The Coalition, founded on October 14, 2000 by some 50 national, state and local organizations, is dedicated to bringing together the rich diversity of the LGBT community at a national level - across gender/gender identity, race/ethnicity, disability, education, income, age and geography.