Oregon Health Authority Cuts Funding For Health Insurance Enrollment For LGBTQ Community
Portland, OR | August 3, 2016 - The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) recently announced that effective July 1, 2016 it was discontinuing grant funding to pay for culturally competent health insurance enrollment services previously provided by Cascade AIDS Project (CAP) for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community, people at higher risk for contracting HIV, and people living with HIV/AIDS, as well as for other culturally specific organizations that serve urban marginalized communities. When asked for comment or the rationale for such funding cuts, OHA has refused to comment or communicate.
This devastating cut was made without any prior warning from OHA leadership and despite the fact that CAP has had held this contract for the past three years (initially under Cover Oregon) and was exceeding all grant requirement and deliverables. Over the past year, CAP conducted outreach and education regarding insurance enrollment to over 125,000 people including an estimated 85,000 who belong to the LGBTQ community. Additionally, CAP surpassed the enrollment goal set by OHA by 58%.
The loss of this resource means that there will be no culturally specific services targeting the unique health needs to the LBGTQ community and people living with HIV/AIDS. Insurance enrollment under the current system is very complex and a failure to select the most appropriate plan can result in significant costs and frustration to the individual. More devastatingly, the cuts will result in fewer LBGTQ individuals, people at higher risk for contracting HIV, and people living with HIV/AIDS being enrolled in insurance and the potential for critical health care services to be denied for lack of the appropriate coverage.
Like so many of other marginalized communities, the LGBTQ population people at higher risk for contracting HIV, and people living with HIV/AIDS face unique needs and health disparities as compared to the general population. Appropriate insurance enrollment ensures that members of these communities can received the services they need to thrive and prevent the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases through preventative measures such as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) therapy. CAP calls on the OHA to restore funding for culturally competent health insurance enrollment services across all of the region’s most at-risk and marginalized communities.