Welcome to National LGBT Week of Action for Enrollment! The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the White House, Out2Enroll and partners across the country and New York State are collaborating this week to reach uninsured LGBT people and get them enrolled in health insurance for 2016. The deadline to apply for coverage that starts January 1 is next week, December 15.

Members of the Health Care For All New York (HCFANY) LGBT Task Force are providing culturally competent enrollment assistance for LGBT New Yorkers, helping them apply for coverage through the NY State of Health Marketplace. These Task Force members include the Community Service Society, Callen Lorde Community Health Center, the LGBT Community Center in Manhattan and its partner in Queens, Voces Latinas, GMHC and Make the Road New York.

The National LGBT Week of Action for Enrollment celebrate the immense progress for LGBT health policy over the last few years since passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). HHS LGBT Issues Coordinating Committee Co-Chairs Kathy Greenlee and Wanda Jones took the opportunity this week to launch the 2015 HHS LGBT Annual Report and described new potential efforts to require electronic medical records systems to collect information on gender identity, sex assigned at birth and sexual orientation by 2018. Other exciting advancements include (1) proposed regulations implementing section 1557 of the ACA will bar discrimination against LGBT people in health care coverage and access, (2) a proposed Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) National Coverage Determination Criteria Guideline for transgender medical care services, and (3) efforts to institute data collection on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

HCFANY’s LGBT Task Force is working hard on many of these same issues at the state level. The Task Force has provided LGBT cultural competency training to more than 150 Navigators across the state so they can better serve LGBT people who want to apply for coverage. The Task Force also advocated for issuance of state policies requiring coverage of medically-necessary care that transgender people need by both private insurance and Medicaid. Listening sessions have been helping the Task Force and state officials identify needed follow up action to ensure compliance with these transgender coverage policies.

Want to learn more about coverage for yourself or an LGBT loved one? Contact the Community Health Advocates hotline at 888-614-5400, or visit the NY State of Health website to learn about your coverage options, which include the new very low-cost Essential Plan.