Openly lesbian U. S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.) is spearheading the first piece of federal legislation that promotes a comprehensive approach to improving the health of LGBT individuals.
Baldwin introduced The Ending Health Disparities for LGBT Americans Act Tuesday, which proposes numerous initiatives to curb inequality and discrimination LGBT individuals face in attaining proper healthcare.
“Our current healthcare system fails LGBT Americans on many levels,” Baldwin said.
The bill would, among many other stipulations, allow for data collection on the health of LGBT Americans, the current lack of which Baldwin said impairs the government’s ability to provide effective health outreach to this community.
“Although we have ample anecdotal evidence of these disparities, the federal government lacks even the most basic data on sexual orientation and gender identity and health,” she said. “This bill invests in research and takes critical steps toward improving the health of LGBT Americans and their families.”
Beyond the research component, Baldwin’s bill would also institute a policy of nondiscrimination for all federal health programs, provide funding for cultural-competence training sessions for healthcare providers and allocate funding for health clinics that serve LGBT communities.
The legislation would also expand current Medicare provisions to allow for the extension of benefits to same-sex domestic partners of those covered under this insurance.
Additionally, the bill would create an Office of LGBT Health within the Department of Health and Human Services to specifically address health concerns related to the LGBT community.
The bill, which Baldwin spent more than a year crafting, currently has four cosponsors: Rep. Harry Waxman (D-Calif.), Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), Mike Honda (D-Calif.) and Nydia Velazquez (D-N.Y.).
Numerous LGBT and mainstream organizations have expressed their support for the legislation, including the Human Rights Campaign, the National Coalition for LGBT Health, AIDS Action, and the American Psychological Association.
Jen Colletta can be reached at [email protected].