Across the country, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals face some of the greatest barriers to accessing adequate and affordable healthcare.

For transgender individuals, these barriers are often increased. From negative experiences with a doctor to prohibitive costs and exclusions that specifically deny coverage, transgender individuals are confronted with unique disadvantages when obtaining healthcare.

In Colorado, Federation member One Colorado is working to better understand the healthcare experiences of the transgender community, and to address the challenges they face. Just this past month, they released a new report that highlights these unique challenges.

The report Transparent: The State of Transgender Health in Colorado is the first of its kind, offering a comprehensive look at the health disparities facing transgender people living in Colorado.  

Transparent summarizes findings from the Colorado Transgender Health Survey, and offers recommendations for health care systems, providers, LGB people and allies, and transgender individuals to expand health equity to address transgender health disparities.

Not only was One Colorado able to engage more than 400 transgender Coloradans to participate in the survey, they made sure that transgender individuals were involved in all aspects of the report – from developing the survey to drafting and dissemination of the report itself. They conducted outreach at Pride events across the state as well as worked with organizations that represent the diversity within the transgender community. The report was a result of collaboration among partners, including the transgender community, the GLBT Center of Colorado, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the University of Colorado School of Medicine, as well as more than 30 members of the LGBT Health Coalition.

Click here to download the report.

When asked how this report fits into the overall work One Colorado is doing for LGBT health, Leo Kattari, One Colorado’s Health Policy Manager, stated that:

“Since its inception, One Colorado has always prioritized LGBT health as a program focus. As we continue to work toward advancing health equity for LGBT Coloradans, these efforts help us identify what we're doing well and where we still need to refocus and recalibrate.”

This report is one of many tools the team at One Colorado is using to improve transgender health care in the Centennial state. It can be used to show first and foremost that transgender Coloradans do exist and live in Colorado, as hundreds of transgender people took the survey. The report also demonstrates the impact that the Affordable Care Act -- and specifically the expansion of Medicaid in Colorado -- has had on access to coverage for transgender Coloradans. Lastly, Transparent highlights the need for ongoing inclusive data collection efforts on gender identity, not just at the state level, but also across the country.

“This report reiterates the importance of health care literacy among LGBT communities and understanding our rights as consumers. Getting health coverage is just one step in the right direction, but with a shortage of providers, our next battle is ensuring insurance carriers have adequate provider networks that meet the needs of transgender Coloradans.” – Leo Kattari

Efforts to improve transgender health in Colorado are already making an impact. In 2015, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment will be collecting data on gender identity for the first time, which makes Colorado one of only a few states collecting this information.

We applaud the team at One Colorado for their dedication to improving the health care experiences of transgender individuals, and agree with Leo in stating that:

"What's really important to take away from this is that the mental health disparities are not because people are transgender -- it's because of the discrimination, bias, and prejudice they experience on a daily basis."

Download the report here.