Health Care Reform is an LGBT Issue!

Dear Equality Supporter,

Tell Your Representative to Vote YES on Reform!

We are at an unprecedented point in the process of national health care reform: the House of Representatives is voting on its reform bill, the Affordable Health Care for America Act (H.R. 3962), within the next week.
 
It is crucial for the LGBT community that this bill passes with a strong majority. The House bill includes numerous provisions that are key to the health and well-being of our community, including:

- A strong public option that expands coverage 
- Data collection that includes sexual orientation and gender identity 
- Strict prohibitions on discrimination in health care and insurance coverage
 
Our community is the under-insured and uninsured. We are seniors and youth, women, people of color, immigrants, and transgender people. We are too often discriminated against by insurance companies and health care providers and denied the care that we need. The status quo harms our community and our families, and we deserve better.

Tell your Representatives to pass LGBT-inclusive health care reform NOW.

Here are three ways to support the Affordable Health Care for America Act:

1. GATHER People Together.  Hold a community call-in night at a local community center or your home. Tell people to come with their cell phones charged up and spend the evening calling toll-free 1-877-264-HCAN (1-877-264-4226), contacting their Representatives to push for passage of the House bill.

2. CALL Your Representatives. Use that toll-free number 1-877-264-HCAN (1-877-264-4226) to call your Representatives and ask them to support the Affordable Health Care for America Act.

3. EMAIL Your Representatives.  Send your legislators a letter pushing for the passage of the House bill stressing that a strong public option, LGBT-inclusive data collection, and clear nondiscrimination provisions are especially important to LGBT people.  To email your Representative go to:    http://eqfed.org/campaign/healthreform2009_ge 

Thank you,

Melinda Morgan
Operations Director, Georgia Equality

Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
Your Congressperson

Below is the sample letter:

Subject: Make Health Care Reform Complete and Comprehensive

Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],

I am writing to ask you to support a public health care option in the coming health care reform. This public option is especially important for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.

We are underinsured. Nationally 25% of LGBT youth had no insurance in 2008. A 2009 study found that 20% of gay and lesbian people and 23.5% of bisexual people in New York City had no insurance.

We need to be able to work with doctors and medical providers who know our communities and are familiar with our unique health needs. Without a public health option, we can only hope that our insurance carrier will cover our health care providers.

We can't always count on employer-supplied insurance. Many LGBT people have jobs that do not qualify for insurance and those who are covered may not be able to get coverage for partners or children.

As Congress and the Obama Administration reform the American healthcare system, I'm asking you to make sure that we all have fair access to health care. Any reformed system needs to take care of everyone, especially those left out in the past. Only a strong public option guarantees that.

I ask you to insist on a health care plan that would provide affordable and accessible health care to all that need it.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Sincerely,
Your Name

Sincerely,

[Your Name]
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What's At Stake:

Too many Americans don't have access to quality, affordable health care and with increasing unemployment and an economy still in recession that number is going to get larger and larger. Under the current system, many working people find it impossible to pay for rising insurance premiums. In 45 states, insurance companies can pick and choose who they're willing to cover. These large, profit-making businesses can toss people out of plans if their coverage starts to get "too expensive" for the bottom line.

The situation is even worse for LGBT people. Society's bias and discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression has meant that many LGBT people have had poor or no access to adequate health care. LGBT individual health has suffered disproportionately from stigma, stress, and violence. We have often not had access for even routine care.  

Any health care reform must be fully LGBT-inclusive.  As Congress and the Obama Administration undertake reform of the American health care system to ensure that all Americans have equitable access to the full continuum of health promotion, prevention, and treatment services, we must be sure to effectively address the needs of distinct populations.

Health care disparities affecting the LGBT community are now recognized by numerous federal agencies and working groups, including the following divisions of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS): the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The HHS Secretary's Advisory Committee on Healthy People 2020 has acknowledged the imperative to address the disparities in health status and health care access that affect the LGBT community, as well as the necessity of targeting the specific needs of the LGBT community when undertaking health care system reform.

The President's proposed plan brings stability to people who presently have health care coverage, provide security for people who don't have insurance now, and offers a plan to keep costs under control.


Campaign Expiration Date:
December 1, 2009