Greetings,
Join Jobs with Justice and LGBTQ Allyship!
When: August 27th from 7pm to 9pm
Where: Capitol Hill on
the corner of Pike and Broadway, next to Tully's
What: Join 'The Truth Squad' a street theater troupe for real health care reform. 'The Truth Squad' will highlight LGBTQ worker health care issues while advocating for the passage of the Public Option. LGBTQ Allyship and Jobs with Justice will gather signatures thanking Senator Cantwell and Senator Murray for their support of the public option. Come be a signature gatherer!
Background:
There is very little known national-level health care data existing for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered (LGBT) populations. With that being said the LGBTQ community has a higher uninsured and underinsured rate than the mainstream population.
Barriers to health care coverage for LGBTQ workers:
- Some LGBT workers might not utilize their health insurance out of fear that their employer will have access to medical records and personal information regarding their sexual orientation or gender identity. In a homophobic society and workplace it could cause LGBT workers their job or make them vulnerable to discrimination.
- Lack of family health insurance puts LGBTQ families at risk of not having health coverage for one's partner and children especially if one's partner is unable to work due to illness, caring for a child or an elderly relative or any other possible scenarios.
- More and more Fortune 500 companies offer domestic partnership benefits for both same-sex and different-sex unmarried couples recognizing that some bisexual and transgendered people have different-sex partners. This acknowledges increasing family diversity in the workplace.
However, even when companies offer domestic partnership benefits some LGBT workers refuse because they are afraid of being outed in a homophobic workplace.
- Some LGBTQ workers defer or can't afford domestic partnership health care benefits because they are taxed as part of their employee salary unlike heterosexual spousal benefits which are not taxed.
- Transgendered individuals have the highest rate of uninsured within the LGBTQ community especially trans women of color. There are high rates of joblessness and poverty within the trans population. There is anecdotal evidence that when trans people reveal their transsexual status to health care insurance companies they are dropped.
Some health care disparities for LGBT workers:
- There are higher rates of cervical, breast and lung cancer as well as HPV in lesbian workers than there are in heterosexual women workers. These disparities occur for several reasons one being a lack of access to culturallycompetent health care coverage.
- There are higher rates of lung and prostate cancer as well as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, HIV and AIDS in gay male workers than the mainstream male population. These health disparities amongst gay men occur for several reasons, including a lack of culturally competent health care coverage and LGBTQ friendly health care providers.
- For transgendered individuals there is an overall higher morbidity rate and lessening of life expectancy than the general population due to transphobia and lack of health care access.
- For LGBT workers who are people of color the above mentioned health care disparities increase due to racism, classism and a lack of culturally competent health care coverage.
* Healthy People 2010 Companion Document for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Health. Coordinated and co-written by the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association (GLMA)
* National Coalition for LGBT Health/ An Overview of U.S. Trans Health Priorities:
A Report by the Eliminating Disparities Working Group
August 2004 Update
