4 Ways the Republican Healthcare Bill Could Impact LGBTQ People – TeenVogue.com

On Thursday, the House of Representatives passed a healthcare bill that dismantles some key parts of the Affordable Care Act. Many have taken to Twitter to express how the health bill could impact them, and the effects are different for everyone. But the impacts also vary for different groups. For LGBTQ people, there are some major changes that could impact the way they access care. According to GLAAD, these potential changes could be disastrous for LGBTQ Americans.

The U.S. House rammed through a destructive and dangerous bill that could strip away health insurance from millions of Americans, including many in the LGBTQ community," Sarah Kate Ellis, President and CEO of GLAAD, said in a statement. "Healthcare is a human right, and no one should be denied access to care because of a preexisting condition or because a program like Planned Parenthood does not fit the ideology of one political party. Now more than ever, its time to buckle down and keep fighting to protect the healthcare that the LGBTQ community deserves.

With GLAAD's help, we rounded up four potential consequences for LGBTQ people should the Senate pass the same health bill.

The bill could weaken healthcare protections for people with pre-existing conditions. According to NBC News , the Republican bill could allow states to seek a waiver that would exempt them from the Affordable Care Act's mandate that insurers provide people with existing health conditions the same rates as people without them. The range of what qualifies as a pre-existing condition varies depending on what insurer you have, but CNN reports that gender affirmation surgery could be a pre-existing condition. In addition, some insurers considered seeking certain treatments received after sexual assault a pre-existing condition before the Affordable Care Act, which could be an issue for LGBTQ people because sexual assault rates are higher in certain sub-populations of the community.

People with HIV could pay more for their insurance. The Advocate reported that according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services, 24% of people with HIV had no health insurance coverage before the Affordable Care Act. If states choose to seek waivers from the ACA's pre-existing coverage mandate, they have to set up alternative means of insurance, like " high-risk pools ," which would allow companies to charge more to those with preexisting conditions who've let their coverage lapse which could potentially include people with HIV. The ACA includes HIV testing in its coverage. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation , the Medicaid changes could also prevent people from accessing life-saving treatment since the government health plan is the largest source of health insurance coverage for people living with HIV.

Defunding Planned Parenthood could be a huge blow to transgender healthcare. Planned Parenthood is one of the largest providers of healthcare to transgender people in the country. Under the new bill, the organization would lose Medicaid reimbursements for one year, meaning it won't be repaid for providing services to someone on the government health program. Medicaid is a program that provides health coverage for low-income individuals who meet certain eligibility criteria, and according to results from the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey Report, almost one-third of respondents were living in poverty , compared to 14% in the general U.S. population. This could mean transgender people have a hard time accessing care like hormone replacement therapy.

The bill could also impact LGBTQ people with mental illness. In some cases, getting treatment for depression or other mental health issues could likely qualify as a pre-existing condition. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness , LGBTQ people are three times more likely than others because of the stresses they face. To be clear, identifying as LGBTQ is not a mental illness, but stresses such as the fear of coming out or being discriminated against can lead to depression, anxiety and other mental illnesses. Having accessed treatment for these things could be a pre-existing condition, which could trigger higher healthcare prices.

Related: People Share Republican Health Bill Reactions With #IAmAPreexistingCondition

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4 Ways the Republican Healthcare Bill Could Impact LGBTQ People - TeenVogue.com