The City of San Antonio’s Metropolitan Health District is hosting a transgender panel discussion which will seek to shed light on health disparities that affect the trans community in San Antonio.
The event, which is co-sponsored by Pride San Antonio, will be held on June 30 at the San Antonio Garden Center.
According to a press announcement, “The discussion will highlight some of the challenges transgender and gender non-conforming communities face as they seek basic medical care.”
A 2016 report by the Kaiser Family Foundation points out the obstacles faced by LGBT people seeking medical care. “Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals often face challenges and barriers to accessing needed health services and, as a result, can experience worse health outcomes. These challenges can include stigma, discrimination, violence, and rejection by families and communities, as well as other barriers, such as inequality in the workplace and health insurance sectors, the provision of substandard care, and outright denial of care because of an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.”
For trans people in particular the problem of finding proper healthcare is even harder. According to Cigna, “It is not easy to find a healthcare provider who knows how to treat transgender people. Sometimes it is difficult to find someone who will agree to treat you. Some providers may feel that there is something wrong with you because you are a transgender person. They are not correct, of course. They may not understand that you have always been this way. Even if you do find someone who will treat you, your insurance may not pay for the treatment.”
Joe Maldonado and Mack Beggs will be Grand Marshals for Pride San Antonio’s ‘Pride Bigger Than Texas’ parade on July 1. (Photos: Facebook)
The panelists for the discussion will be: Pride Parade Grand Marshals and trans activists Mack Beggs and Joe Maldonado; community activist Matthew Flores; trans comedienne Joan Riviera; and Lauryn Farris who is on the board of the Transgender Education Network of Texas, and former president of the San Antonio Gender Association.
Metro Health’s Office of Health Equity and Pride San Antonio host a Transgender Health Discussion, from 11:30 am to 1 p.m. on Friday, June 30 at the San Antonio Garden Center, 3310 N. New Braunfels Ave. Free and open to all.
