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The New LGBT Obamacare Ad Campaign

by Andrea Garcia-Vargas

Yes, ObamaCare has given us all more than a few questions: How do I enroll? What is it with these glitches? What the hell?! are common questions many of us may have already asked. But the LGBT community in particular has faced a lot of hassles when it comes to enrolling: What if I'm trans? What if I have a same-sex spouse?) are some more complicated questions that aren't always addressed by President Obama's PR campaign. But Out2Enroll — a new effort by the Center for American Progress, the Sellers Dorsey Foundation, and the Federal Agencies Project — is out to change that.

Let's not underestimate the problems they're trying to solve:

1) the LGBT community has specific concerns about Obamacare

2) the answers to their questions aren't readily available

3) telling a stranger over the phone or over Internet about your same-sex spouse status or about your sex-assigned surgery? Uncomfortable!

As Sydney Boles said on Policy Mic:

Let’s be real: health care has lots of little ways of making LGBT people feel marginalized, invisible, and sometimes unsafe. Folks in civil unions or domestic partnerships don’t have access to their partner’s insurance. Transgender-specific coverage is rarely included in employer-sponsored insurance, and uninsured trans people have extreme difficulties coming by the care they need. So we’re unlikely to trust the newest fad, even if that fad comes in the form of the Affordable Care Act.

While the White House may have held an "LGBT briefing" on Obamacare way back in August, with the Dec. 23 deadline for ObamaCare fast-approaching, it's becoming more important than ever for Out2Enroll to enroll LGBT folk who might otherwise be put off by the lack of information.

Stats from the Center for American Progress on the LGBT population and healthcare show the need is certainly there:

  • 1 out of 3 LGBT respondents are uninsured
  • 4 out of 10 uninsured LGBT people have medical debt
  • 44 percent of all the respondents have avoided medical care because of financial costs
  • Only 43 percent had employer coverage — a low rate compared to the country's national average of 58 percent