WEBINAR: Celebrating The Health Reform Anniversary With LGBT Americans

March 23 marks the second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. According to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the Affordable Care Act is one of the greatest opportunities we have ever had to begin to close the LGBT health disparities gap. Thanks to the health care reform law, LGBT Americans across the country will soon be able to access insurance coverage and comprehensive health care services through the expansion of Medicaid and the sale of affordable private insurance through state-based Health Insurance Exchanges that are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Studies such as the Institute of Medicine’s 2011 report on LGBT health and CAP’s How to Close the LGBT Health Disparities Gap demonstrate that many other aspects of health care reform are also of vital importance to the health of LGBT communities. These include promoting prevention and wellness, supporting community health centers, and advancing cultural competency training for health care providers. The Affordable Care Act is also key to efforts to recognize the increasing diversity of America’s families and to improve data collection to better identify and address the full range of LGBT health disparities.

Learn more about the benefits of the Affordable Care Act for LGBT Americans today at 2 PM ET, when CAP and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force host a webinar entitled Learn Your Power: How the Affordable Care Act Helps LGBT Americans. The webinar will feature Mayra Alvarez, director of public health policy in the HHS Office of Health Reform; Darlene Nipper, deputy executive director at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; Kellan Baker, Health Policy Analyst at the Center for American Progress; and Brad Clark, executive director at One Colorado, Colorado’s statewide LGBT equality organization.