Senator Gardner, Defend the Health Care of LGBTQ Coloradans During Pride Month!

The life-saving Affordable Care Act (ACA) has made a world of difference to LGBTQ Coloradans. The ACA has provided access to care and strengthened protections for millions of Americans, including transgender people and the broader LGBTQ community. Before the passage of the ACA, being transgender was considered a pre-existing condition, and LGBTQ folks could be charged more for the same service as non-LGBTQ adults. The ACA extended health insurance coverage to more than 600,000 Coloradans through the public health exchange and Medicaid expansion, eliminated pre-existing conditions and transgender-specific exclusions, established cost parity, clarified that spousal benefits must apply to same sex couples, and removed limits on annual and lifetime spending for people with chronic conditions.

Colorado’s uninsured rate dropped significantly as a result of the ACA. A survey by One Colorado found that the uninsured rate for LGBTQ Coloradans was cut in half between 2011 and 2018. Insurers in the individual market could no longer drop, deny, or charge more for coverage because of a pre-existing condition. That’s particularly important for the nearly 2.4 million Coloradans living with a pre-existing health condition. An estimated 65% of LGBTQ adults have a pre-existing condition.

Despite the successes of the ACA, it is still at risk— and we need our leaders, like Senator Cory Gardner, who has voted seven times in his career to repeal the ACA, to start defending it.

Sign this petition and tell Senator Cory Gardner to protect the ACA for LGBTQ Coloradans.