Healthcare is inaccessible for transgender people, new study shows
Thu Aug 19
Nearly half of transgender individuals have experienced mistreatment by a medical provider. In fact, a study recently released by the Center for American Progress found that more than half of transgender adults have avoided medical care altogether to avoid anticipated trauma. - 20% said a doctor was physically rough and abusive when treating them.
- 25% said a doctor refused to give gender affirming care, such as treatments to align a patient's physical body to their gender identity.
- 32% said a doctor intentionally misgendered them by refusing to refer to someone as their preferred pronouns, chosen name, and their gender identity.
- And 42% of transgender individuals reported attempting suicide to cope with transgender-related discrimination.
Transgender individuals are not only less likely to seek care, but report poor care even when they do, such as incorrect medication dosages or placement on incorrect organ transplant lists. And beyond discrimination, healthcare for transgender people in the U.S. is largely inaccessible: - For starters, more than half of medical school curricula lack information about the unique health issues of LGBTQ+ people. The doctors that are knowledgeable are mostly self-taught and implicit bias training about identities is not standardized.
- In legislation, over 40 bills have been filed across 22 states aiming to block medical care for transgender people. While Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act prohibits the refusal of healthcare on the basis of discrimination, activists worry that healthcare may still be withheld under the legal cover of religious freedom, effectively challenging the recent expansion of protections for LGBTQ+ and transgender people.
Meeting the healthcare needs of transgender people requires more than policy changes. Advocates say further research into diverse transgender bodies is key to advancing healthcare for the community. Simultaneously, simple changes to practice, such as using preferred pronouns, would make healthcare providers more inclusive and prevent deadly outcomes. And as LGBTQ+ healthcare services are in high demand and low supply, more inclusive healthcare elsewhere could save lives. | |
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