At Georgians for a Healthy Future, we pride ourselves on strong partnerships. Over the past few years, we have been collaborating with Georgia Equality and the Health Initiative to ensure that the health care needs of LGBT Georgians are not neglected.

These partnerships brought Whitney Griggs, GHF’s Consumer Education Specialist, to Savannah on September 12^th for the annual Savannah Pride Festival. Together with the Health Initiative, Whitney distributed information related to LGBT health care needs and spoke to festival attendees about how to enroll in health insurance.  Of particular interest was our joint fact sheet with Georgia Equality on Transgender Health Care. Some of the festival attendees who picked up this fact sheet shared stories of having been denied coverage due to being trans-identified in the past, but who can now get coverage that meets their needs because of the Affordable Care Act. People that stopped by the table were also interested to learn that health care services must be provided regardless of gender identity or expression. This means that health insurance plans must cover transition-related care, as long as that care is covered for cisgendered people under on the same plan. So services such as hormone replacement therapy and gender-specific care (like mammograms and prostate exams) must be covered if they are covered for other people enrolled in the same plan.

Whitney also gave out some tips for trans-identified folks to keep in mind when enrolling in health insurance:

• On all enrollment forms, check the sex box that matches the sex you believe is on file with the Social Security Administration.
• Some important questions to ask include:
  • Is hormone replacement therapy covered?
  • Is my doctor included in the plan’s network?
  • Is there a network of trans-friendly doctors and/or doctors who have training working with or currently serve trans clients?
  • Are reconstructive surgeries covered?

All in all, it was great day in Savannah (despite the rain) and people learned a lot from GHF and the Health Initiative.

If you have a specific question about LGBT health care and health insurance, feel free to reach out to Whitney Griggs at wgriggs@healthyfuturega.org or the Health Initiative at (404) 688-2524

You’re invited to a panel discussion about the state of health care in Augusta and across Georgia. Local stakeholders and community leaders will discuss the current state of health insurance coverage and access to care, present regional and state data on Medicaid and the uninsured, and discuss opportunities to work together to improve coverage and access to care through direct collaboration and through policy change. We will place a special focus on Georgia’s coverage gap and lessons learned from other states that have reduced their uninsured rates by expanding Medicaid or through alternative approaches, such as a waiver.     The event will take place at the Augusta Richmond County Public Library on Thursday, Sept. 24th, 9 to 11 am. Coffee and a light breakfast will be served. This event is free, but we ask that you please register so we can get an accurate head count.

Panelists include:

Dr. Jacqueline Fincher, MD, MACP

Board of Regents | American College of Physicians | Managing Partner,  McDuffie Medical Associates

A representative from Christ Community Health Services

Tim Sweeney, Deputy Director of Policy Georgia Budget and Policy Institute

Dr. Bill Custer, Director of Center for Health Services Research

Click here to register for the event.

Covering Kids & Parents: Health Insurance for the Whole Family 

New from GHF!

All kids need reliable access to quality health care.  Children need to see the doctor even when they are healthy:  shots for school, well-child visits, and dental care are all important for kids to grow up healthy and strong.  Their parents need coverage too to stay on track with regular screenings and preventive care, to access the health care system if they become sick, and to experience the financial peace of mind that comes with being covered.

Thanks to new health insurance options available through the Marketplace, the uninsured rate among parents is dropping. Still, too many of Georgia’s low-income parents fall into what has become known as the “coverage gap,” meaning they don’t earn enough to qualify for subsidized private insurance and they earn too much to qualify for Medicaid because Georgia has so far declined to join the 27 states (and counting!) who have expanded Medicaid.

In an effort to provide accurate information to parents about the coverage options for themselves and their children, GHF has created a set of fact sheets about health insurance coverage for kids and parents in Georgia.  These fact sheets are intended to be a resource for individual consumers and for organizations who represent or provide services for Georgia families.

Affordable Health Care for Your Children and For Uninsured Parents help parents understand the coverage options for themselves and their children. If you work with low- to moderate-income families through a charity care clinic, at a school or church, or in a community-based organization, you may want to provide these resources to the families you serve.

Covering Kids paints a picture for policy makers and the media who want to better understand children’s health care coverage in Georgia.  If you work with policy makers or want to talk to your legislators about health care coverage for kids, this fact sheet will be a helpful resource.

A fourth fact sheet serves as a reference for those who need to know the income limits for the Medicaid and PeachCare programs.

You can view and download these new fact sheets on the GHF website. If you would like hard copies to distribute to your members, clients, or community partners, please contact Laura Colbert, GHF’s Community Outreach Manager.