HHS secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine recently spoke about the accessibility of accurate, and quality healthcare including the right insurance coverage for the LGBTQ+ community.
- Commitment of HHS :Dr. Levine focuses on the strides and commitments of HHS in delivering quality healthcare and health insurance to all LGBTQ people of the state. “ Right now members of the LGBTQ+ community and their families who are seeking health insurance can go to Healthcare.gov and enroll in coverage. Because of our special enrollment period, now to August 15th consumers will have the opportunity to take advantage of the special enrollment period and get coverage”.
- Healthcare crisis: Dr. Levine, the highest-ranking openly transgender public official in United States history oversees the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ key public health offices and programs, several Presidential and Secretarial advisory committees, 10 regional health offices across the nation, and the Office of the Surgeon General and the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. Her keynote speech focuses specifically on health disparities in the LGBTQ community and how she is using her personal experience to advance health equity for all.
- Goals: As champions for health equity, the American Heart Association has set a goal to advance cardiovascular health for all by 2024. This includes identifying and removing barriers to health care access and quality and to addressing those experienced by the LGBTQ+ community. Cardiovascular diseases do not discriminate. There is mounting evidence that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning (LGBTQ) adults experience disparities across several cardiovascular risk factors compared with their cisgender, heterosexual peers.
- Health Impact: Fear of discrimination can translate to LGBTQ adults delaying primary or preventive care, or lack of trust toward health care professionals.“ Discrimination in healthcare impacts health outcomes. Research shows that 1 quarter of LGBTQ people face discrimination in the form of postponed or not receiving much-needed medical care for fear of further discrimination. This is unacceptable”, said Dr. Rachel in the speech.
- A pathbreaker in modern health: Levine’s trans identity has shaped her new role as one of the nation’s top public health officials. “At a time when access to health care is a growing crisis for transgender people made worse by anti-LGBTQ legislation and legislators across the nation, Dr. Levine has the empathy to understand the health needs of our diverse country and the skillset to improve them,” Alphonso David, president of the Human Rights Campaign has said in a statement.
