According to a new Gallup Poll, lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender Americans are more likely than non-LGBT Americans to report they still do not have health insurance, despite the a significant drop in uninsured Americans since the Affordable Care Act’s provisions requiring Americans to have health insurance took effect.
The poll reveals that although there has been a similar drop in uninsured amongst both LGBT and non-LGBT Americans, the coverage gap continues to persist. Which is really unsurprising, considering that a quarter of LGBT responses indicated that there was simply not enough money in the household to pay for healthcare premiums. This compared to 17% of non-LGBT respondents.
The most useful time periods for comparison are the fourth quarter of 2013 — the three months before provisions requiring insurance took effect — and the second quarter of 2014, after open enrollment ended. Between those two periods, the percentage of uninsured LGBT adults fell by 4.4 percentage points, similar to the 3.5-point drop among non-LGBT Americans.
And the intersection between being LGBT and being a woman was also revealed by the poll responses. If taken as a whole, LGBT adults are more likely than non-LGBT adults to report that they do not have a personal doctor. In comparison to their non-LGBT peers, LGBT women lack a personal doctor, 29% vs. 16%. There was no significant difference in the reported personal doctor rates for men.
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