As Pride Month winds down, health advocates want members of the LGBTQ+ community to know about health care options, despite any challenges to obtaining them.

Nearly 8% of U.S. adults identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or some other sexual orientation besides heterosexual, according to 2023 data, which is more than double the number in 2012.

Despite the increase, the group still faces health care disparities. According to a 2023 survey from the health policy organization KFF, LGBTQ+ people are more likely to self-report poorer health, experience higher rates of disability and have more need for mental health services. Those living in rural places face additional challenges.

Kenny Starling, owner of Wyoming's debut drag and theater production company, said health care can feel like a taboo topic, especially for queer people.

"On top of that, the actual health care providers themselves being up-to-date on the information about queer individuals and the resources that should be available to us," Starling pointed out.

Starling noted it took them four months to find a local doctor willing to work with them to obtain Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, or PrEP, an HIV preventive Starling's original doctor had not even heard of. According to KFF, nearly half of LGBTQ+ people have reported a negative experience with a health care provider in the last two years, as opposed to one-third of people outside the group. It includes the provider dismissing patient concerns, making assumptions, thinking the patient was lying and more.

Starling emphasized their theater and drag company has been busy during Pride month. The company uses performances to address health care, talking about it during shows and providing resources in the lobby.

"We alternate between the resources," Starling added. "Be they mental health services or free rapid HIV and STD testing, suicide prevention, access to Enroll Wyoming and health insurance resources."

Open enrollment for health insurance begins Nov. 1 in most states but special enrollment periods apply for those experiencing certain life changes.


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For some LGBTQ+ voters in Nebraska, the state's new voter ID law brought up issues in the May primary election and could again in November's General Election.

Johnny Redd, communications manager for OutNebraska, said the group has used Pride Month to focus on voter registration and what the voter ID law does and does not mean. Redd explained one concern they have heard is, what happens if the person's ID picture does not match their appearance or gender expression?

"There is no requirement that requires you to look like your photo. It just has to be a photo ID," Redd noted. "I mean, obviously, if it's like someone of a different race, or something like that, then there's a problem."

Redd pointed out it is not unusual for people to look different from their photo ID, often because of a different hair color or style, or weight gain or loss. But for those who have changed their name, she stressed the name on their ID and their voter registration must match for them to be eligible to vote.

Redd urged people to make sure their voter registration is up-to-date. At the Secretary of State's Voter Registration Portal, people can register, change their address and even change their name in some cases.

Redd added voter roll purging is another reason people should double-check their registration. She said although it is usually billed as "upkeep," in some cases it may be more targeted.

"Specifically, BIPOC and LGBTQ people end up being a huge number of those folks that are purged from voter rolls, for whatever reason," Redd observed. "That's another big one, just showing up and realizing, 'Wait, I'm not even on the list because I haven't voted since 2017,' or something like that."

Nebraska law requires people who've moved to update their voter registration by the deadline indicated by their county election commissioner or county clerk, or they will be dropped from the voter rolls.

A 2022 study identified members of the LGBTQ+ community and their supporters as one of the fastest growing voting blocs in the country.

Twenty years after the first state permitted marriage equality, a majority of same-sex married couples said it had a profound positive effect on their lives.

A new report finds it strengthened couples' relationships, provided legal protections, financial security and greater acceptance among family and friends.

Abbie Goldberg, professor of psychology at Clark University, said marriage equality is part of a public health agenda.

"They have access to health insurance. They are physically and mentally healthier. They're able to share the sort of challenges and work of raising children," Goldberg outlined.

Still, Goldberg said nearly 80% of couples surveyed worry about the future of marriage equality. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas have both suggested the high court revisit Obergefell v. Hodges, the decision which legalized same-sex marriage in 2015.

The report reveals same-sex married couples are also concerned about what they call an increasingly hostile environment in the U.S. More than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced since last year, including in New Hampshire, where lawmakers have advanced measures targeting transgender youth.

Goldberg noted concerns are forcing couples to consider relocating to more accepting states, or even outside the U.S.

"It's creating not just legal uncertainty but propelling them to think about the future in ways that require time, money, planning," Goldberg explained.

Goldberg added marriage equality created families and the report details the positives to ensuring people are protected. Almost 60% of participants said marriage provided more stability or security for their children, and often created new in-laws who could help.


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Full-time LGBTQ+ workers make about 90 cents for every dollar earned by the average worker in the U.S.

Today is LGBTQ+ Equal Pay Awareness Day, and an Arizona organization is continuing to call for a more just and equal Arizona.

Angela Hughey, co-founder and president of the coalition One Community, said her organization wants to see progress. In a 2020 landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court held an employer who fires or discriminates against an individual for being gay or transgender would be in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. But Hughey pointed out it only applies to businesses with 15 or more employees. At the state level, 11 Arizona cities have enacted LGBTQ+ inclusive nondiscrimination ordinances.

"Unless the business is located in one of the 11 municipalities, that already has LGBTQ+ municipal ordinances in place in employment and housing and public accommodations, it's not unlawful to discriminate against a person based on their sexual orientation," Hughey emphasized. "We need to do better."

Hughey said One Community is supportive of the Equality and Fairness for All Arizonans Act which would extend nondiscrimination protections statewide. The measure has faced pushback from the state's Republican majority legislature who disagree with it for ideological reasons. Yet 77% of Arizonans would support nondiscrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people, according to the nonpartisan organization Public Religion Research Institute.

Hughey noted while things are changing, LGBTQ+ people in the state live in "two Arizonas."

"What you see is that those LGBTQ inclusive ordinances cover less than 15% of the geographic area that is Arizona," Hughey pointed out. "That means if you're an LGBTQ person, particularly if you're living in the more rural areas, you don't have the same protections."

Hughey underlined while Maricopa County is seeing significant economic gains, it is also experiencing a talent deficit, so businesses, regardless of size, should ensure they are paying their employees in an equitable way.

"If you want the best and the brightest, it is important you are paying your talented folks," Hughey contended.

Hughey added along with addressing the civil rights of the LGBTQ+ population, inclusionary employment practices are also good for business.