With Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger stating this week that he is going to veto the Democrats' health reform bill (AB8) and call a special session of the legislature to focus on health care, the time to make our voices heard on this vital issue is now. The California Endowment is reporting that nine out of 10 Californians in recent surveys want health care reform and it's important that the LGBT community have a strong voice in advocating for reform that meets the needs of our diverse community.
Some of you may be thinking, "Isn't it too late to do anything?" Not at all. Now that the budget is out of the way, much of the real conversation about how to fix our broken health care system is just beginning. In fact, many of the actual details of how reform is going to affect our day-to-day lives are still being debated. Right now is when you need to make our communities' needs regarding health care coverage clear to decision makers in Sacramento.
Does being LGBT mean you have different health insurance needs? For some of us, it may not make much difference. However, ask your transgender or HIV-positive neighbor to talk to you about the nightmares they face in getting coverage for basic health care. Stop and talk to the two fathers around the corner who are having trouble making sure their children have coverage. Or ask the doctor at the LGBT health clinic about whether the Medi-Cal reimbursements she receives are enough to keep her doors open. Unfortunately, we are still an underserved and stigmatized community, which means that a broken health care system oftentimes disproportionately leaves us without adequate care.
Even though the conversation to date has largely been about insurance, our health needs go beyond getting our bills paid. This important dialogue about coverage has opened up opportunities to also talk about wellness and a climate in the state that promotes healthy living.
Our Family Coalition and Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center have joined with dozens of other organizations representing a diverse cross section of our communities from around California as the LGBT Health Care Advocacy Working Group to enrich the reform dialogue with common-sense, effective proposals for supporting the health of the LGBT community. After six months of meetings with key legislators, the governor's office, and our allies in the social justice movement, we've boiled these proposals down to seven principles that meaningful health care reform must include:
¥ Guaranteed health care for all
¥ Affordable care
¥ Comprehensive, quality care
¥ Culturally competent care
¥ Full equality under the law
¥ Support for existing, proven models of care
¥ Better data collection on LGBT health disparities to ensure informed care
You can find out even more about what each of these principles includes by viewing our one-page summary on the Web site of the Transgender Law Center (http://www.transgenderlawcenter.org/hcprinciples).
As a working group, we did not take a position on any of the plans proposed over the last year. We've offered these principles to the authors of each of the main three proposals and strongly advocated for their inclusion in their overall policy making decisions. If you're not up to speed on the array of proposals, you can find helpful summaries of each at http://www.calhealthreform.org. This site will also keep you up to date on where things are heading in the special session.
One way for you to get involved in this debate is to print out our seven principles and contact the offices of the governor and the legislative leaders, asking them to incorporate these principles into their plans and overall policy goals. You can also pick and choose from our list or create your own. The important thing is that you are engaged and active on this vital issue.
Thanks to the efforts of tens of thousands of LGBT people and supporters from around the state, California has made a commitment in a number of areas (but clearly not all) to creating full equality for our community. In this instance, we have an unprecedented opportunity to make sure a major reform initiative fully incorporates our community and our families from the ground up. Let's not miss it.
Judy Appel is executive director of Our Family Coalition. Lance Toma, LCSW, is executive director of Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center.