Rainbow Health Urges Mpls Funding for LGBTQ Health Resource

As part of the City of Minneapolis’ complex budgeting process, once the Mayor has submitted a draft budget to the City Council, the Council receives input from residents regarding changes the public would like the Council to consider.  This process includes the Council holdings hearings where residents may offer testimony.

This fall, Rainbow Health has joined with several other organizations to urge the Council to amend the budget to include a line item funding the creation of a centralized health-information resource focused on LGBTQ residents.  “Part of the City’s commitment to public health is ‘working together to empower people in Minneapolis to live healthier lives,'” testified Rainbow Health’s Senior Advocate for Aging & Gender Care Access, Phil Duran, on November 15.  “Developing a resource such as this would be an important and effective step forward in doing just this.”

Many LGBTQ individuals have negative experiences seeking health care due to actual or anticipated discrimination or disrespect, as Rainbow Health’s Voices of Health report, among others, shows.   This can lead to people not seeking care at all, which can exacerbate existing health concerns and drive health disparities.  “Having a centralized location to find information about health providers accessible to Minneapolis residents, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, would help these individuals allay their fears of discriminatory or otherwise harmful interactions with health providers, and make it easier for them to get the care they need.  This, in turn, will advance the City’s goal of empowering people to live healthier lives,” Duran said.