In Brief: Catching Up on Care

From April 2010 eNews (Vol. 7, No. 4)

The health care reform acts that President Obama signed into law will bring good news, especially for 32 million Americans who will now have access to health insurance.

Many who are LGBT or living with HIV will have greater access to coverage. Discrimination based on pre-existing conditions, like HIV, will be prohibited. In addition, the out-of-pocket burden for prescription medication will be eased for people living with HIV who also rely on Medicare.

However, gay employees will still be taxed on health coverage that their employers provide for their spouses or partners. Moreover, language to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity did not make it to the president's desk.

Health coverage is a critical issue for our communities. People facing economic disadvantages are much more likely to go without, and studies have found that LGBT people and people living with HIV are at higher risk of living in poverty or being homeless. In addition, a 2006 study by the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute found that unmarried same-sex partners are 74 percent more likely to be uninsured than married individuals.

In our recently published survey report, When Health Care Isn't Caring, more than half of all lesbian, gay and bisexual respondents, 70 percent of transgender respondents and 63 percent of respondents living with HIV reported experiencing discrimination in health care settings. This is unacceptable.

Lambda Legal has a long track record of fighting for and winning equal access to health care and the elimination of discrimination in health care settings.

We are currently representing Melody Rose, who was denied gallbladder surgery when a physician found out she had HIV, and advocating for Dennis Barros, a gay man who was refused service by a fertility clinic.

We are fighting to block Arizona’s elimination of health benefits for the same-sex partners of public employees. In addition, we’re suing for spousal health benefits for Karen Golinski, a federal court employee in California.

We have had important victories. Our suit on behalf of Guadalupe Benitez, denied fertility treatment, resulted in a precedent-setting ruling from the California Supreme Court and a substantial monetary settlement in 2009. And even when a court decision doesn’t go our way, such as in our suit against Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, we continue to engage with community partners to advocate for policy changes and educate the public about the need for fair treatment. We applaud advocates of health care reform for helping to move our nation a step closer to universal care. But to ensure that health care is truly caring for LGBT and HIV communities, a great deal of work remains to be done.

Kevin Cathcart
Executive Director