Queers and Health Insurance: Market to Us, We’ll Buy!
Nina forwarded me the results of a recent study indicating that nearly a quarter of gay and lesbian adults lack health insurance. Apparently, we’re twice as likely as our straight counterparts to go through life without health coverage.
I’m lucky. Although I’m self-employed, I’m covered by my partner’s company plan. The portion that pays for me comes out of her paycheck post-tax, of course, but it’s a lot cheaper than insuring myself. And I agree with Paula that in the U.S., you cannot afford to be without health insurance. For me, it’s a no-brainer to get health insurance, as long as I can afford it.
The study doesn’t specifically suggest why so many of us are without health coverage. If I had to guess, I’d probably mention that queers have historically earned much less than straight people, and the fact that health insurance is expensive. And even when companies do cover domestic partners, there’s no tax deduction, making coverage even more expensive.
But the study does point out the obvious: When companies market to us, we respond! And we get angry when we’re ignored. From the press release:
‘œStudies consistently show that gay and lesbian consumers are far more likely to focus their spending on companies that sensitively and specifically reach out to them,’ said Colleen Dermody, Vice President of Witeck-Combs Communications. ‘œGLBT consumers place a high value on brands, including health insurance companies, that earn and grow respect within the community. GLBT consumers are among the most motivated to ‘˜vote’ with their dollars and to seek out brands they believe to be very friendly and supportive of the GLBT community.’
This is somehow news to people?
I don’t quite know how to respond to this press release except feel very sad. I wish I could say that better marketing was the answer to getting us insured at the same rate as our straight counterparts, but of course we all know that’s not the whole story. What’s really going on? I suspect the health insurance companies don’t know what to do with us. Even when we are covered, our queer-specific needs are simply not addressed. For example, Nina’s written eloquently about the cost of IVF; where’s the support in traditional health insurance models for queer babymaking?
Maybe we need to take a different tactic. We already have queer-specific financial planning. Why not queer-specific health insurance? Organizations like The Mautner Project and Gay Men’s Health Crisis are helping us become more aware of queer-specific healthcare needs — they could get together and sponsor a healthcare plan for us. As far as I’m aware, there’s no major health care company in the U.S.A. that tailors a plan specifically for our unique needs. I’d love to see a Lesbian Babymaking PPO plan. It would cover any kinf od babymaking and/or adoption you can think of. And midwifery of course, and doula services.
Or better, a Trans HMO. Hormones would be covered, of course. And rather than go to Thailand, our trans friends could have reassignment surgery right here in the United States.
Maybe I’m dreaming too big. Do you think it would fly?
The bottom line with health insurance is that you need equal amounts of “users” and non-users to balance out the costs. If you made some type of health insurance for transgendered people that covered surgeries and hormone replacements, the premiums would be through the roof since every person signing on for benefits would be utilizing them.
A more generalized health insurance across a more diverse section of the community at large could definately offset *some* of this but bigger insurers are not proactive enough to figure out how to make it work.
As for coverage of a married or partnered couple, I never get why I have to be burdened with paying tax on the “added benefit/income” of my partner being insured on my policy when heteros pay nothing more to insure their spouses. So wrong in so many ways!
I also cover my spouse with my companies DP after-tax insurance. I think one way they can market insurance to us is to get the news out they their benefits include DP insurance. That is the number two reason for being employed with a company for me- I need to cover my spouse.
I like the idea. I wish we had something like that. I was covering my wife on my insurance at work but it was so expensive that we got a plan online instead. This works since she basically is healthy and has no ongoing medical issues. I just hated that that ‘benefit’ my workplace provided was taxes (as income I believe?). sigh…