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The Oregon LGBTQ+ Aging Coalition is celebrating the restoration and clarification of critical regulatory protections that ensure nondiscriminatory access to healthcare for LGBTQ+ people and other vulnerable populations.
April 26 ,2024, the Department of Health and Human Services finalized its rulemaking under Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act. The new rule will ensure everyone can receive the health care and insurance coverage they need free from discrimination, including specific protections for transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people, people with limited English proficiency, people of color, and people with disabilities.
"With hate crimes rising in Oregon, the Department of Justice has launched a campaign to support minority communities and spread awareness of the state’s nonemergency hotline for reporting bias and hate crimes.
The hotline (844-924-BIAS (2427), the first of its kind nationwide, is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific time, Monday through Friday. It was launched in 2020, following the passage of Senate Bill 577 in 2019.
That law defined a hate or bias crime as intimidation or harm of another person or their property motivated by the person’s actual or perceived protected class, including race, color, disability, religion, national origin, sexual orientation and gender identity.
2023-09 Meeting-the-Health-and-Social-Needs-of-LGBTQ-Older-Adults-Through-Medicaid.pdfSeptember 2023
Policy Brief on Meeting the Health and Social Needs of LGBTQ+ Older Adults Through Medicaid
Includes:
9 Key Insights About the Health and Social Needs of LGBTQ+ Older Adults
Key Opportunities to Use Medicaid to Improve Health and Social Care for LGBTQ+ Older Adults
AARP AARP Blogs Fighting For You Every Day
AARP Oregon Helps Pass Protections for LGBTQ+ Nursing Home Residents By Natalie Missakian, August 9, 2023 06:26 PM
We applaud state lawmakers for passing — and Gov. Tina Kotek for signing — AARP-backed legislation that prevents discrimination against LGBTQ+ residents in nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer older adults face unique challenges as they age. They’re twice as likely as older heterosexuals to be single and live alone, and four times less likely to have children, so they often must rely on someone outside their family for long-term care.
Many worry about mistreatment or being forced to hide their identity if they need to move to a nursing home or an assisted living facility, an AARP survey of LGBTQ+ adults 45 and older found.
Oregon’s law, which Kotek signed July 31, will create a bill of rights for LGBTQ+ residents in long-term care facilities. The law makes it illegal to discriminate against residents based on their gender identity, sexual orientation or HIV status, in ways such as denying admission or assigning a room that is inappropriate for their gender identity. The law also requires additional training for staff.
In Oregon — which has a higher share of its population who identify as LGBTQ+ than any other state — nearly 60 percent of older LGBTQ+ residents reported experiencing discrimination within the last year, AARP Oregon Advocacy Director Andrea Meyer testified in March, citing a 2021 state survey. A quarter of those said it happened in “residential settings and health care.”
AARP Oregon State Director Bandana Shrestha said the legislation was supported by a broad array of stakeholders and provides "critical protections that allow residents of long-term care facilities to age with choice and dignity, regardless of their gender identity or expression, sexual orientation or HIV status.”
Learn more about AARP’s resources for LGBTQ+ caregiving and keep up with our advocacy work in Oregon.
March 1, 2023 Press Release
Oregon LGBTQ+ Aging Coalition Joins SAGE's New Partnership Model: SAGECollab
Oregon LGBTQ+ Aging Coalition Joins SAGE's New Partnership Model: SAGECollab
"A survey conducted by Oregon’s Human Services Department has found that most older lesbian, gay, or bisexual people in the state have reported experiencing discrimination and many also reported experiencing elder abuse.
The agency found that LGB older adults experienced higher rates of poverty, suicidal thoughts, and overall economic instability. Respondents described issues getting appropriate health care and social services, such as food or transport assistance, partly because of their identity. Older LGB people in the state also reported feeling isolated from others. "...
"LGBTQ Oregonians over the age of 55 suffer elder abuse at an alarming rate, and the vast majority don’t report it, according to a new study commissioned by the Oregon Human Services Department. Queer elders in the state also suffer from higher rates of poverty, are more likely to have suicidal thoughts, and say that they have been discriminated against in the previous year.
“As a senior retired person, I’m still very much in the closet,” wrote one anonymous participant in the study. “I wish things could be different and that I could have a relationship with a man.”...
..."A majority of older lesbian, gay, bisexual Oregonians have experienced discrimination and many have been subjected to elder abuse, according to a survey commissioned by the Oregon Human Services Department.
The survey indicated that this population suffers from relatively high rates of poverty, suicidal thoughts and housing and economic instability. Many interviewed for the survey said they had difficulty getting health care or other social services such as food assistance and transportation because of the cost, availability or fears about their identity or qualifications."...
..." The survey indicated that LGBTQ seniors in Oregon, an estimated 100,000 people, feel isolated and ignored. The survey, which involved online questionnaires and phone interviews with 1,400 lesbians, gays and bisexuals, considered anyone at least 55 years old as a senior."...
..."Lincoln said offering an “explicitly welcoming environment” to all LGBTQ people is important in the community. Older LGBTQ people are more likely to be single and less likely to have children, she said, adding, “There’s no group of people better at making family where there is no family than gay people are.”
Lincoln explained that the whole gist of the report is that queer people are at risk. “And can you imagine how much more in rural areas?” she asked rhetorically."...
Oregon's first LGBTQ+ Older Adult Survey
Salem, OR ̶ Nearly 60% of older adults ̶who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, Two Spirit and non-binary as well as sexual or gender diverse (LGBTQ+) ̶report experiencing discrimination within the past year and 24% experienced abuse. Of those who experienced abuse, 76% did not report it, according to a study commissioned by the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS).
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