The effects of health care policies: LGBTQ aging adults

Projected estimates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) populations in the United States reach 4 to 8 million older adults by 2030. Healthy People 2020 created goals to improve the health, safety, and well-being of these individuals. However, not all political agendas point to resolutions favorable for this population. Provisions under the Affordable Care Act once considered status quo protections for the LGBTQ community are now threatened as law makers are rolling back health care mandates, exposing members of the LGBTQ community to potential exacerbations of prejudice, discrimination, and stigmatization previously seen as historical violations of human rights. The purpose of this article is to identify how current health care policies have created legal windows of opportunity for persons to discriminate and create juxtaposition with goals and objectives of Healthy People 2020, promoting barriers in the health care continuum for LGBTQ aging adults.