Family Pride’s Blog

Next Monday marks the start of National LGBT Health Awareness Week (March 11-17). This week recognizes and promotes the importance of health in the LGBT community on the local, state and national levels. According to the National LGBT Health Awareness Week website:

The theme of the 2007 National LGBT Health Awareness Week is KNOW MORE. This is a call to KNOW MORE about how to stay healthy and how to improve the health of the LGBT community.”

Rebecca Fox, director of the National Coalition for LGBT Health, explained to us that LGBTQ health is particularly important to LGBTQ-parented families in three areas.

1. Healthcare coverage. LGBTQ families are less likely to be fully covered under health insurance because the insured partner’s company may not offer domestic partner benefits.
2. Health services. Not all health services are culturally competent; this impacts not only the service provided to LGBTQ people, but also to their children. Not all health services are equipped to work with family structures that differ from the “Ozzie and Harriet” model.
3. Senior care. Services provided to seniors, such as nursing homes or assisted living, are impacted by the legal and policy frameworks which deny LGBTQ people access to financial resources. For example, social security does not pay survivor benefits to the same-sex partner of someone who dies. This inequality costs LGBTQ elders $124 million a year. Medicaid, tax laws, pensions, etc. pay all be uphill battles for LGBTQ seniors and their families.

So, KNOW MORE this year. Visit the National LGBT Health Awareness website and download their resources and get involved. Don’t know what to do? Check out this great list of ideas.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS