House Version of Health Bill is Gay inclusive
On Nov. 7, The House of Representatives approved a health care reform bill that would correct many of the problems that afflict health care in America. That bill, now headed for the Senate, contains provisions that would rectify inequities and extend better medical care to GLBT Americans and their families.
The House version included several items that had been lobbied for by GLBT equality advocates, including a change in tax laws that penalize gay and lesbian families who receive partnership benefits through their employers. As reported in the New York Times, the 1996 "Defense of Marriage" Act (DOMA) specifies that same-sex families cannot be recognized under federal law.
Thus, the value of such health benefit packages is taxed as income. This effectively has added an additional financial burden to gay and lesbian families that their heterosexual counterparts do not face.
The article quoted the member of the House who had introduced language to correct the situation, Washington Rep. Jim McDermott, a Democrat. McDermott said that the provision would "correct a longstanding injustice, end a blatant inequity in the tax code and help make health care coverage more affordable for more Americans."
"I meet people all the time who are gratified they work for companies that offer domestic partner benefits," Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, told the Times. "But they pass on the benefits because they cannot afford the taxes that go with the benefits."
The HRC’s website detailed several legislative provisions included in the bill for which the equality organization had lobbied for years. Among those provisions is language that denotes GLBTs as a "health disparities population" and provides research funds to look into the ways in which sexual orientation and gender identity impact access to health care.
Also, there is a provision in the House version to provide early Medicaid support for mediations to treat HIV early, rather than waiting for the virus to lead to AIDS, in which patients’ immune systems have been so badly ravaged that they are susceptible to infections and opportunistic disease. Early treatment has been shown to be crucial in keeping people living with HIV healthier and able to survive for considerably longer periods of time than when treatment is delayed.
The bill also contains provisions for comprehensive sex education that would teach abstinence but also provide accurate information about how to prevent STD transmission, including HIV.
The issue of medical discrimination against GLBTs is also covered, in a provision that requires health providers to care for GLBT patients with the same level of professionalism and dedication that is shown toward heterosexual patients.
Whether those provisions will be part of any final bill that is sent to President Obama for signing remains to be seen. GOP Senate leaders have denounced the current version of the bill.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham pronounced the bill "dead on arrival," while independent Sen. Joe Lieberman said that he could not endorse the House version of the bill "as a matter of conscience," the Associated Press reported.
House Version of Health Bill is Gay Inclusive
by Kilian Melloy
Monday Nov 9, 2009
The House version included several items that had been lobbied for by GLBT equality advocates, including a change in tax laws that penalize gay and lesbian families who receive partnership benefits through their employers. As reported in the New York Times, the 1996 "Defense of Marriage" Act (DOMA) specifies that same-sex families cannot be recognized under federal law.
Thus, the value of such health benefit packages is taxed as income. This effectively has added an additional financial burden to gay and lesbian families that their heterosexual counterparts do not face.
The article quoted the member of the House who had introduced language to correct the situation, Washington Rep. Jim McDermott, a Democrat. McDermott said that the provision would "correct a longstanding injustice, end a blatant inequity in the tax code and help make health care coverage more affordable for more Americans."
"I meet people all the time who are gratified they work for companies that offer domestic partner benefits," Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, told the Times. "But they pass on the benefits because they cannot afford the taxes that go with the benefits."
The HRC’s website detailed several legislative provisions included in the bill for which the equality organization had lobbied for years. Among those provisions is language that denotes GLBTs as a "health disparities population" and provides research funds to look into the ways in which sexual orientation and gender identity impact access to health care.
Also, there is a provision in the House version to provide early Medicaid support for mediations to treat HIV early, rather than waiting for the virus to lead to AIDS, in which patients’ immune systems have been so badly ravaged that they are susceptible to infections and opportunistic disease. Early treatment has been shown to be crucial in keeping people living with HIV healthier and able to survive for considerably longer periods of time than when treatment is delayed.
The bill also contains provisions for comprehensive sex education that would teach abstinence but also provide accurate information about how to prevent STD transmission, including HIV.
The issue of medical discrimination against GLBTs is also covered, in a provision that requires health providers to care for GLBT patients with the same level of professionalism and dedication that is shown toward heterosexual patients.
Whether those provisions will be part of any final bill that is sent to President Obama for signing remains to be seen. GOP Senate leaders have denounced the current version of the bill.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham pronounced the bill "dead on arrival," while independent Sen. Joe Lieberman said that he could not endorse the House version of the bill "as a matter of conscience," the Associated Press reported.
House Version of Health Bill is Gay Inclusive
by Kilian Melloy
Monday Nov 9, 2009
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