In honor of Pride Month, the graphic below highlights the inequities many members of the LGBTQ+ community report facing when accessing healthcare services. LGBT adults were more than twice as likely to report being treated unfairly by a healthcare provider. Negative experiences or fear of mistreatment can lead to healthcare deferrals that may exacerbate both patients’ physical and mental health, the latter of which LGBT adults are more likely to rate as being poor. Fear of discrimination is particularly pronounced for the transgender community. Nearly half of transgender adults reported a negative experience with a healthcare provider related to their gender identity, and, alarmingly, a larger share reported negative healthcare experiences in 2022 compared to 2015. Within the transgender community, transgender youth face some of the greatest barriers to care, in part due to the proliferation of state policies that limit their access to gender-affirming care. Despite evidence that receiving this kind of care reduces the risk of depression among transgender youth by 60 percent, half of all states have enacted laws to limit access to these treatments, although many of these laws are currently facing legal challenges. The health disparities that persist among the LGBTQ+ patient population must continue to be both acknowledged and addressed as part of the healthcare industry’s greater commitment to health equity.
