- Piedmont Rising
NEW REPORT: Attacks on Affordable Care Act Threaten LGBTQ Health Care
NEW REPORT: Attacks on Affordable Care Act Threaten LGBTQ Health Care
Days After Trump Axes Transgender Protections, New Report Shows ACA’s Necessity for LGBTQ North Carolinians
Raleigh, N.C. – On the heels of President Trump’s decision to reverse non-discrimination protections for transgender people under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Piedmont Rising released a new report showing the broad effect attacks on the ACA could have on the LGBTQ community in North Carolina — and the necessity for Medicaid expansion.
Key Highlights
LGBTQ Americans are more than twice as likely to be uninsured as non-LGBTQ Americans, regardless of income.
In North Carolina, 1 in 5 LGBTQ people lack health insurance.
65 percent of LGBTQ Americans have a pre-existing condition, such as diabetes, asthma, heart disease, or HIV.
8 percent of lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults and 29 percent of transgender adults nationwide have reported being outright denied care by a health care provider.
LGBTQ people of color are significantly more likely than white members of the LGBTQ community to face barriers in access to health care.
There are an estimated 319,000 LGBTQ adults in North Carolina. Meanwhile, North Carolina does not have any laws banning discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in private health insurance plans.
“The Affordable Care Act is critical to ensuring access to health care for LGBTQ North Carolinians.” said Piedmont Rising Executive Director Casey Wilkinson. “Like many marginalized communities, the LGBTQ community faces increased hurdles when accessing health care. Despite these well-documented challenges, Senators Tillis and Burr have voted to gut much-needed coverage in the middle of a pandemic and failed to speak out against Trump’s blatantly discriminatory moves to strip away existing LGBTQ health care protections. North Carolinians are demanding that their senators protect access to health care for everyone.”
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About Piedmont Rising
Piedmont Rising is a 501 (c)4 issue advocacy organization built by and for North Carolinians to advocate for lower insurance premiums and prescription drug costs and to ensure that more people have access to safe and affordable health care. Through grassroots organizing, education, and engagement, we are amplifying our health care stories and holding our elected officials accountable to the people, and issues they were elected to represent. www.piedmontrising.org