It’s often reported that when patients trust their providers, they are more likely to seek care and follow their treatment plans. For the LGBTQ+ community, trust in the medical profession has been a lingering problem. Close to half of this population report communication problems with their clinicians, and as a result they were twice as likely to skip an appointment due to a prior negative experience. Notably, one in five LGBTQ+ people said they experienced medical trauma, and one in 10 said they encountered some type of medical discrimination. Biases in health care increase the likelihood of misdiagnosis or misaligned care, which further fuel poor health outcomes.
Challenges related to how the LGBTQ+ community access and engage with their providers are even more critical when you consider the fragmentation of the current health care landscape – and the growing need for care navigation and innovation in areas like mental health. It’s evident that we must act now to provide higher quality and more personalized health care to LGBTQ+ individuals. Employers, who provide care to 180 million Americans, also have an important role to play in this.
A Growing, Disproportionate Mental Health Burden
Recent data compiled by Morgan Health shine light on the quality of health care for LGBTQ+[1] patients currently enrolled in benefits from their employer. Historically, there’s been limited data available on disparities in employer-sponsored insurance, which covers more Americans than any other type of insurance. It’s important to understand the true burden of disparities across populations to offer actionable guidance on how employers can close gaps within their own plan membership.
Here is what we learned about LGB individuals specifically:
- LGB individuals had higher rates of mental health treatment overall and specifically among all people with depression: 18.8% compared to 4.1% of straight individuals.
- LGB individuals also have higher rates of tobacco use; alcohol use, including drinking behavior considered as alcohol abuse or dependence; and drug use, including at levels considered illicit drug abuse or drug dependence.
- Worth noting, the rate of illicit drug use among LGB individuals was 14.9 percent, compared to 8 percent for people who identify as straight.
Some aspects of our health care system deepen these mental health disparities — and social factors like where you live, whether you can be open with your provider and how much you earn can further contribute to them.
Working to Close Gaps in Mental Health Care
Importantly, our research showed that LGB individuals are more motivated to seek help for mental health care needs. Compared to straight-identified individuals, LGB people are more than twice as likely to report having seen a doctor about their mental health and receiving treatment.
This finding underscores a very meaningful opportunity to address the historic pitfalls this community has faced in establishing trust with their providers and creating peace-of-mind that they can access the care they need.
As the largest purchasers of health care services, employers can play a key role in helping to make this reality – by following these three key steps:
- Advocate for a more diverse health care workforce. LGBTQ+ employees benefit from being able to access a more culturally competent, inclusive workforce that can better empathize with and understand their care needs. The American Psychological Association (APA) has identified best practices for the treatment of LGBTQ+ clients, including providing staff education to promote inclusive behavior, requiring dedicated staff training, dealing with harassing or intolerant behavior by peers in treatment programs and creating policies aligned with LGBTQ+ client needs.
- Provide incentives for seeking treatment. Employers can expand mental health and substance use support for all workers, with particular emphasis on the LGBTQ+ community. This might include reducing cost-sharing for mental health services, boosting access to virtual therapy and other telehealth options through Employee Assistance Programs (EAP), and providing benefits for clinician-led peer support services for lower-acuity needs.
- Utilize employee resource groups. Employers can help foster a workplace culture that prioritizes and promotes mental health by using employee resource groups as channels for connecting less engaged subpopulations to relevant care options. These efforts might include promoting conversations around mental health in the workplace through workshops, educational resources, and apps like those offered by Personify Health, which empower people to prioritize well-being and improve their health.
By taking a proactive approach to mental health support for LGBTQ+ workers, employers can become their allies — helping to promote their overall wellness and to create a positive work culture.
[1] Note: Research did not account for medical claims filed by the transgender population. This is a research area that requires future investment and attention.
