3 Ways the Transgender Community Benefits from the Affordable Care Act 

Quick Fact:  The first gender transition surgery that was completed in America occurred in 1966 at the John Hopkins University transgender clinic.

More than four decades later, the transgender community has another cause for celebration through the Affordable Care Act!

Apart from the fact that Medicare lifted their 33-year ban on coverage for gender reassignment surgery (a major stride in progress that will hopefully encourage private insurers to follow suit), the Affordable Care Act also offers the following wonderful benefits to the country’s LGBT community:

Expanded Access to Health Care

According to this Center for American Progress report on LGBT Health Disparities Gap, there are nearly 82 percent of heterosexual adults who have health coverage, while only 52 percent of transgender adults have coverage.

Often, such disparity is a result of transgender individuals working in jobs that do not offer health benefits, or working for employers who do not offer health coverage to individuals with same-sex partners.

The Affordable Care Act has made it possible for LGBT individuals without health insurance

to have increased access to health care through the following provisions:

  • Individuals and families will have new opportunities to purchase health insurance. Depending on their income, individuals and families under 400% of the poverty line (about $46,000 for an individual and $94,000 for a family of 4 will be eligible for tax credits to help purchase private insurance.
  • In many states, individuals under 133% of the poverty line (about $15,300 for an individual and $31,300 for a family of 4) will now be eligible for coverage under Medicaid.
  • Young adults are now allowed to remain on their parents’ plan until age 26.

Protection from Discrimination

Nearly 30 percent of LGBT individuals are reportedly experiencing discrimination in accessing health care.

This figure will hopefully dwindle in number with Affordable Care Act’s establishment of new nationwide nondiscrimination protections on the basis of gender identity, sexual orientation, or HIV status.

If you want to file a complaint regarding gender identity discrimination, head on to this link: http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/civilrights/complaints/index.html

Better Data Collection

In the past, statistics and figures on transgender individuals are quite sparse, leading to a poor representation of nationally representative data of the community.  This is because major federal surveys do not routinely asked respondents about sexual orientation and gender identity.

Data on LGBT and transgender health will soon shift as the Affordable Care Act requires the HHS to survey and collect a range of demographic data that will aid in the understanding of health disparities including gender identity.

As a result, the government will be able to map a clearer picture of transgender health and allocate spending and research priorities appropriately.

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