Sebelius promotes Obamacare benefits targeted at high-risk homosexuals
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| Official portrait of United States Health and Human Services Secretary . (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
As the Obama Administration gears up to celebrate “Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month” throughout June, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced Monday that meeting the special needs of homosexuals will be a targeted goal of Obamacare because “for too long...[they] were pushed to the side.”
“For too long, the health concerns of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals were pushed to the side,” Sebelius said in a statement. “LGBT individuals have faced limited access to health care and insurance. They have been less likely to get the preventive care they need to stay healthy, they have higher rates of tobacco use, and they are often at increased risk for mental health illness.”
Rather than discouraging high-risk homosexual behaviors, Sebelius highlighted special programs and regulations that address the medical problems common within the gay community, including AIDS, sexually-transmitted diseases, mental illnesses, substance abuse and more.
Among the Obamacare provisions Sebelius said were of special value to practicing homosexuals:
-- “Insurers can no longer impose lifetime dollar limits on health insurance coverage, and annual limits will be phased out in 2014. This is particularly important for people with cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other chronic diseases requiring comprehensive, long-term care.”
-- “Starting in 2014, insurers cannot deny coverage or charge higher rates based on a pre-existing condition or because an individual is lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender.”
-- “Insurers generally must cover such vital preventive services as HIV screening, vaccinations, depression screening, contraception, intimate-partner violence screening, and annual well-woman visits, at no out-of-pocket charge.”
-- “Healthcare.gov includes a health plan finder tool that allows consumers shopping for health insurance to filter for plans offering coverage for domestic and same-sex partners.”
Sebelius also said the Obama administration will seek to increase the visibility of homosexuals and “transgendered” people by adding an option to declare “gender identity” on healthcare-related government surveys and questionnaires.
Numerous studies over the years have found that homosexuals suffering from higher – sometimes astronomically higher – rates of sexually transmitted disease, substance abuse, depression, and suicide. In the United States, the rate of HIV is some 50 times higher in men who have sex with men than in the rest of the population.
