The Problem

The American lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community is in a medical and political crisis. Prior to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, politics and widespread discrimination lead to significant disparities in LGBT medical rights and health care outcomes. These pre-existing LGBT health care disparities have since become exacerbated by the pandemic. Often overlooked in larger discussions about LGBT people and the pandemic is a larger social problem; LGBT health care disparities amplified by the pandemic are set to magnify LGBT social and political inequality on a national scale. In addition, the pandemic has contracted space in public discourse and media coverage—which is needed to advance LGBT equality—creating new opportunities for exploitation to advance anti-LGBT political agendas.

Prior to the advent of COVID-19, many LGBT people faced the detrimental effects of widespread discrimination. Before the pandemic, a majority of LGBT Americans also found themselves living in states without legal protection from job discrimination. LGBT people can be evicted from their homes or denied the right to adopt children for the “crime” of being who they are. Many LGBT people report being the targets of hate speech and hate crimes, to the point that many live in a constant state of fear of being attacked or murdered for walking down the street or engaging in public displays of affection with their loved ones. Research from the Williams Institute found that LGBT people are twice as likely to have experienced lifetime homelessness and earn as much as 32% less than their heterosexual counterparts. LGBT people continue to be denied basic services, such as the ability to purchase catering services, to order a wedding cake, or to hire wedding photographers. In recent years, there has also been a steady wave of attempts to legitimize anti-LGBT discrimination through claims of “religious freedom” to deny LGBT people their constitutionally protected right to equal treatment under the law.

Situated in and reflecting this larger discriminatory context, the LGBT community also face significant health care disparities. Before the pandemic, many LGBT people had difficulty finding LGBT-safe health care providers and faced an absence of federal laws prohibiting health care discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation.