Transgender people are more likely to report poor health, lack of insurance

A new study by the Williams Institute found that transgender people are more likely to lack health insurance and report poorer health and less likely to have a health care provider or receive regular dental care.
Ilan H. Meyer, lead author of the study, said policymakers should pay attention to the unique needs for transgender individuals.
“At this time, when a measure to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act could remove health coverage from as many as 24 million people, the health needs of transgender people could be further threatened, increasing disparities in health coverage between cisgender and transgender Americans,” he said.
Some findings of the study:

• Compared with cisgender people, transgender individuals had higher prevalence of poor general health, more days per month of poor physical and mental health, and they were more likely to have had myocardial infarction.

• Relative to cisgender individuals, a higher proportion of transgender people lacked health care coverage and a lower proportion of transgender people had a regular health care provider and dental care.

• However, transgender individuals did not differ from cisgender individuals in other aspects of health that were studied, including chronic diseases, cancers and depressive disorders and in health behaviors such as smoking, binge drinking or always wearing a seatbelt.

The Williams Institute is a think tank on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy affiliate with UCLA School of Law.