Members of the LGBT community are more likely than the general population to lack adequate, if any, health coverage. But as a result of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), millions of LGBT people and their families will experience improvements in the quality of coverage they have—such as LGBT-inclusive anti-discrimination protections—or will have access to health insurance coverage for the first time.

Implementing the Affordable Care Act requires efforts from a variety of stakeholders to ensure that the benefits of the law reach everyone who needs them.

Now, our members have a new resource to help them provide the best information to LGBT individuals about the ACA.

The Center for American Progress has released a report exploring how LGBT people view and engage with the health insurance market, with recommendations for how to best serve LGBT individuals and their families.

Click here to read LGBT Communities and the Affordable Care Act.

The report provides insight to better understand how LGBT individuals connect with coverage, and what their perceptions are of the Affordable Care Act. It found that:

• LGBT individuals and same-sex couples are more likely to live in poverty than their counterparts among the general population, and therefore stand to benefit significantly from provisions of the ACA that expand and subsidize coverage for the uninsured.
• One in three LGBT people in the survey was uninsured.
• LGBT respondents value insurance, but have had negative and discriminatory experiences.
• Even after hearing about the tax credits and subsidies that will help make coverage affordable under the Affordable Care Act, 63 percent of respondents did not believe they would be able to find a plan they can afford.

The LGBT community is not unique in their skepticism regarding the affordability of new plans or in the questions they have about new coverage options, but it is our duty to help them better understand how they can benefit from this new system.

Based on the survey findings, the top four specific messages that LGBT people need to hear about their coverage options are:

• Plans will cover a range of essential benefits such as doctor visits, hospitalizations, reproductive health, emergency-room care, and prescriptions.
• They cannot be denied coverage based on pre-existing conditions.
• They may be able to get financial help to pay for a health insurance plan, based on household size and income.
• They may be able to get family coverage that is inclusive of same-sex partners.

The findings of the report suggest that enrollment outreach to the LGBT community must speak broadly to concerns that all uninsured or underinsured people may have about the scope of coverage options available and their rights under the law. But outreach must also simultaneously ensure that consumers are informed about new protections that speak directly to the history of exclusion and discrimination that LGBT Americans have experienced in health coverage.

Our members can inform their LGBT communities through the following examples of messaging that resonates with LGBT community members:

• Affordability: “Financial help may be available on a sliding scale based on how much money you make.”
• Pre-existing conditions: “If you have a pre-existing condition, insurance plans cannot deny you coverage.”
• Family coverage: “If you are in a same-sex relationship, you may be able to get family coverage for yourself and your partner.”
• Discrimination protections: “Insurance companies cannot discriminate on costs or benefits because of sexual orientation or gender identity.”
• Transgender inclusion: “Insurance plans cannot discriminate in benefits based on gender identity.”

Federation members can continue to work in their individual states to inform LGBT individuals about their rights under the Affordable Care Act. Lack of knowledge should not keep LGBT people and their families from acquiring quality health care, and we can help to make sure they know how and where to receive this care. 

Click here to read LGBT Communities and the Affordable Care Act.