#lgbt health

The greatest wealth is health.~Virgil​

[USA]:It’sLGBTQ Enrollment Week of Action-open enrollment means open for everyone, including ALL bisexuals+ their families and friends! So we are getting the word out to the Entire Bisexual Community​ this holiday season!  Get Medical Coverage, then Get That Check-Up and Be Healthy!

And it helps that it’s cheaper and easier than ever before to get financial help and Get Covered for 2017.  So CLICK THE LINK and give yourself and your loved ones the Gift of Health Care this Holiday Season. 

Note:Bisexual+(Bi+ for short) is just *shorthand* for ALL Non-Monosexual people inclusive of but not limited to: Bisexual & Biromantic as well as Ambisexual, Flexisexual, Fluid, Heteroflexible & Homoflexible, Multisexual, No Labels, Omnisexual, Pansexual, Polysexual, Pomosexual, SGL (Same-gender Loving), Sapiosexual, Queer-identified, Questioning et al.

Additionally the Bisexual+ Community has always/will always include people of ALL genders/gender identification including but not limited to: Androgynous, Cis, Genderqueer, Gender-Nonconforming, Non-binary, Trans, et al.

Big news:  The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has ruled that Medicare can cover sex-reassignment surgery for transgender people.

The program has had a blanket ban on gender transition–related surgical procedures for more than 30 years. But in a ruling last week, HHS’s Departmental Appeals Board threw out the ban, saying it is unreasonable and contrary to current science and medical standards of care, think-progress reports. As Kellan Baker explains,

The lifting of the coverage exclusion means that transgender Medicare beneficiaries will now be able to seek individualized review of the medical necessity of the specific procedure they need, just like anyone seeking coverage for any other medical treatment.

Medicare provides health insurance coverage for 48 million seniors and people with disabilities. The ruling is the result of a challenge by groups including the ACLU, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, and the National Center for Lesbian Rights. It follows similar decisions by five states and the District of Columbia, all of which have held that across-the-board exclusions for transition-related care by private health plans are discriminatory and unlawful, the Transgender Law Center notes.

More reaction here.

(Image via Think Progress)

Inside the Landmark, Long Overdue Study on Chest Binding

“Based on our preliminary analysis, for most participants, binding was a positive experience and led to improvements in mood and self-esteem, minimized gender dysphoria, anxiety, and depression, and helped them to feel in control of their bodies. In fact, some reported that a positive impact on emotional and behavioral health makes the physical discomfort of binding worth it.”

This is being called the first medical research study on chest binding. Great news that research is focusing on something that impacts the daily lives of many queer and trans people!

Why LGBTQ People Don’t Get the Mental Health Care They Deserve

Because we are seen by so many people as ill because of our sexual orientation or gender identity, a lot of us are reluctant to come forward about mental illness… That’s contributed to a lot of shame around it.”

We need more competent providers so that queer and trans people seeking care receive the care they need and don’t have to play the part of educator to their health and social service providers!