Since taking office, President Obama and his Administration have taken significant steps to advance equality for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. You’ve probably heard of many of these accomplishments: repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” prohibiting anti-LGBT discrimination in hospitals and in housing, promoting international LGBT human rights, standing up against DOMA and then implementing the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Windsor.

(WB) Jamaican Health and Wellness Minister Christopher Tufton last week said people who access his country’s mental health care system should not experience discrimination based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.

(WB) A federal judge issued an order Monday blocking the Trump administration from enforcing a rule allowing health care providers to discriminate against transgender patients — one day before the regulation was set to go into effect.

(WM) A federal lawsuit filed Nov. 12 alleges West Virginia’s Medicaid and state employee health plans unlawfully denied coverage for gender-confirming care for two transgender residents.

On Sept. 14, the Wilton Manors City Commission approved resolution 2021-074 urging the Florida Legislature to act in order to safeguard the accessibility, affordability, and safety of reproductive healthcare and the fundamental constitutional right to abortion.

On May 20, the gay activist, scholar, and writer, Jeffrey Escoffier (1942-2022), died.

OMAHA, Nebraska (the Heartland Project) -- When Ryan Sallans, an activist in the Nebraska transgender community, first went to the doctor in 2005 to talk about what he medically needed to do for his gender transition, his doctor wanted to offer medical help. That was the good news.

(WB) LGBT and HIV/AIDS groups are criticizing President Trump’s executive order on health care, asserting the measure endangers people with pre-existing conditions who could be left out in the cold.

As a gay man, the Boston attorney thought he was doing the responsible thing when he asked his doctor to prescribe Truvada, a drug hailed as a way to halt the spread of AIDS. But when he tried to get long-term care insurance, Mutual of Omaha turned him down, saying they do not offer coverage to anyone who takes it.

The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) is a leading civil rights organization dedicated to the empowerment and protection of black LGBT people, including those living with HIV/AIDS. 

WASHINGTON (AP) – Addressing gay and lesbian concerns, the Obama administration Friday moved to expand health insurance access for same-sex couples and close a loophole that threatened to leave some HIV/AIDS patients without coverage.

Members of the transgender community experience higher rates of homelessness, food insecurity, healthcare issues, and violence than cisgender people, according to a study published in the Harvard Public Health Review. 

(LA Blade) A Republican Oklahoma State Senator has introduced a bill that would ban healthcare and transitions for transgender adults in their late teens into their early 20s.

In its 20th year, a national organization created an LGBT Healthcare Bill of Rights for a further understanding of both patients and their providers.

WASHINGTON - Mirroring a shift in society, the Obama administration proposed Thursday to ban discrimination against transgender people throughout the health care system.

(WB) The government of Puerto Rico’s Medicaid program will now cover transition-related health care.

(WB) On the heels of her tirade in committee over allowing transgender people to serve in the U.S. military, Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) has proposed an amendment that would bar the Defense Department from providing transition-related care for troops.

WASHINGTON -- Republicans are pushing toward Senate approval of legislation demolishing President Barack Obama's signature health care law and halting Planned Parenthood's federal money, setting up a veto fight the GOP knows it will lose but thinks will delight conservative voters.

Check out the most-read National stories of 2021 ranging from a bisexual Superman to an adult film star becoming an attorney.

(AP) A study says transgender people are more likely to lack health insurance than those whose gender corresponds to their sex at birth.

Many of our readers have expressed that they would like to know a little more about the winners of our annual “Best Of” poll.

“Are you male or female?”

The verdict is in. The one-two punch of President Donald Trump’s proposed federal budget and the House Republican health care bill, if actually enacted, would deal a devastating blow to people living with and at risk for HIV. And while the U.S. epidemic, which has been steadily improving on many fronts in recent years, would take a major hit, the president’s proposed cuts to global HIV funding could prove cataclysmic to developing nations.

After a tweet by President Trump advocated a ban on transgender individuals from serving in the United States military set off an alarm across the world, various news stories emerged with information about the more than 15,000 transgender service members who are currently serving in the United States military. In addition to widespread concern that the tweet could become policy, confusion surfaced about how such a ban could not only affect transgender service personnel who are already serving in the military, but also transgender veterans of the United States military who receive their healthcare at veteran healthcare facilities throughout the nation.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A Minnesota gay rights advocacy group and a transgender man are seeking to overturn the state's bar on public health programs covering gender reassignment procedures in a lawsuit filed Thursday, arguing that ban treats transgender men and women as inferior.

Michael Nemerof, 35, has been using PrEP for several years. Like many gay men he used Truvada to prevent HIV.

(LA Blade) The Justice Department announced Tuesday the establishment of the Reproductive Rights Task Force.

(WB) A Fairfax County School Board candidate is under fire after he told a local clinic that offers medical care to transgender people that his stepchild is trans.

After at least two rejections by the city commission in past meetings, Wilton Manors will now offer employee health benefits related to gender reassignment surgery and procedures.

On April 21 about 100 people gathered at the Pride Center to discuss access to health care. Town Hall panelists included US Congressman Ted Deutch (D-FL), Gary Resnick (Mayor of Wilton Manors), and Dr. Toni Lewis (Service Employees International Union). Deutch represents Wilton Manors as well as other parts of Broward and Palm Beach Counties.