Biphobia in the healthcare system is killing us
By Dr. Beth Sherouse, BiNet USA Secretary
By Dr. Beth Sherouse, BiNet USA Secretary
As bi+ community
advocates, we’re often asked what “bi issues” are, exactly—what are the unique
challenges that bi people face and where do we see the consequences of biphobia
taking a toll on our lives. If there’s one issue that affects the bi+ community
the most, it’s our health.
To put it bluntly,
biphobia in the healthcare system is killing us. Compared not only to
non-LGBTQIA+ people, but also to cisgender gay men and lesbians, bisexual
people have significantly higher rates of a range of serious health problems. Moreover, we face serious obstacles in our
attempts to access culturally competent and affordable health care.
As we rapidly approach
the December 15th deadline for open enrollment in the Affordable Care Act, this
issue is particularly pressing. According to a 2015 survey, while lesbian and gay respondents were
uninsured at a slightly lower rate than their heterosexual counterparts,
bisexual people were less likely to be insured than either group. Additionally,
while only 7% of lesbian/gay and heterosexual respondents reported that they
had not obtained medical care in the previous year due to cost, 16% of bisexual
people reported the same.
We also know from
earlier research that bi+ people are much less likely than gay
men and lesbians to disclose our orientation to our medical providers, which
means that when we do manage to overcome our disproportionately high poverty
and lower rates of insurance coverage, we aren’t getting the culturally
competent care we need to have healthy lives.
BiNet USA works to
educate bi+ communities about the importance of critical programs like the
Affordable Care Act in part because so many bi, pan, fluid, queer and
no-labeled people report astronomically high rates of poor health. For more
information or to enroll in health insurance coverage before the December 15th
deadline, visit www.healthcare.gov.