The law has delivered great progress, but there’s still more work to be done.
With LGBT Pride Month still in full swing, it’s a great time to celebrate the progress made by and for the LGBT community, especially in healthcare access thanks to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
At the same time, there’s a lot at stake this month, between the U.S. Supreme Court’s pending decisions about marriage equality and tax subsidies under Obamacare — a case that would disproportionately affect LGBT people if the subsidies are struck down.
But regardless of the outcomes, the gains made under the ACA are significant for the LGBT community, says Kellan Baker, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress (CAP) and a steering committee member for Out2Enroll, a national initiative to connect LGBT people with health insurance options under the ACA.
And expanded care access is about more than just health when it comes to LGBT people.
“It’s a civil rights issue,” Baker says. “In states without non-discrimination policies, the Affordable Care Act is your non-discrimination protection. It means LGBT people can’t be treated badly in health insurance and healthcare, which is central to people’s lives.”
Read all the details about the gains the LGBT community has made, what more needs to be done — and what’s at stake at the Supreme Court — in my post over at healthinsurance.org.
[Image courtesy of Out2Enroll.]
