Providers, administrators, health insurers and other healthcare-access gatekeepers can learn, train, change policies and remove barriers facing vulnerable groups so they can receive the long-overdue opportunity to pursue their best health and well-being.

Point32Health will now be able offer members access to LGBTQ+ Health, Included Health’s navigation and advocacy program for LGBTQ+ members. These members will have access to a care team led by LGBTQ+ care coordinators, who can help them find in-network, gender-affirming providers. They can also be connected to support groups and receive education on medical and legal issues. 

While there is a heightened awareness about closing the gaps in the system and creating equality, one of the influential groups that suffer from this injustice is the LGBTQ community.

Liana Douillet Guzmán, who takes over as CEO at Folx Health, explained how the digital platform offers virtual care as well as the option to have medications shipped directly to patients’ homes.

Included Health, a benefits navigation startup for LGBTQ+ employees, recently landed two big clients, Walmart and State Farm. CEO Colin Quinn explained the company’s journey so far and why more benefits leaders are paying attention to LGBTQ+ employees’ health needs. 

Not only is the community at a higher risk of severe Covid-19 outcomes, but LGBTQ+ people are also suffering from mental health issues associated with social isolation.

Having access to affirming spaces and living with people who respected their pronouns made a big difference in LGBTQ kids’ mental health, according to a survey conducted by the Trevor Project. Youth living with people who respect their pronouns were half as likely to report attempting suicide than those who didn’t. 

Folx, a direct-to-consumer health startup for LGBTQ patients, raised $25 million in funding. The company, which launched in December and currently operates in 11 states, plans to use the funds to further expand its footprint and expand into sexual health and family planning services.

A.G. Breitenstein, a founding partner with Optum Ventures, launched FOLX on Thursday. The direct-to-consumer health platform is designed specifically with LGBTQ patients in mind.

Plume provides access to telehealth consultations for patients seeking gender-affirming hormone therapy. Recently, the startup began partnering with employers to offer its services as a benefit.

A U.S. district judge blocked a rule by the Department of Health and Human Services that would end anti-discrimination provisions protecting transgender patients. In his decision, U.S. District Judge Frederic Block said that the rule violated a recent Supreme Court decision protecting LGBTQ workers’ rights.