Members of the LGBTQ Community and the Healthcare System

I was astounded to find out that there are medical professionals not only treating people for the LGBTQ community differently because of their orientation but also that some of them were being denied treatment outright.

According to “Mental Health America,” Not only are people who identify as a part of the LGBTQ movement have a much higher chance of having a mental illness almost three times more likely. They are also reportedly being turned away from receiving healthcare because of their identity. As many as “8 percent of LGB individuals and nearly 27 percent of transgender individuals report being denied needed health care outright”.

This is horrendous and people, especially people of the LGBTQ movement, need access to healthcare. Especially when considering that these individuals are more likely to have mental Illness and substance abuse problems.  as high a rate as 30 percent of LGBTQ youths has a substance abuse problem while compared to as high as 10 percent in the general population.

However, there is change already happening. In 2011 the Joint Commission “Joint Commission, an independent non-profit national organization that accredits and certifies more than 20,000 health care organizations and programs in the U.S.” They made it a requirement that to be certified that you have to have a nondiscriminatory policy based on one’s sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression to be accredited by their organization.

Source
Anon. 2016. “Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender Communities and Mental Health.” Mental Health America. Retrieved June 3, 2019

(https://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/lgbt-mental-health).

 

Written by Jacob Bohn – Healthcare Administration Student