SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 1

52nd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2015

INTRODUCED BY

Jacob R. Candelaria

FOR THE LEGISLATIVE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMITTEE

A JOINT MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE SECRETARY OF HEALTH TO CONVENE A LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND QUEER HEALTH DISPARITIES TASK FORCE TO ANALYZE HEALTH DISPARITIES AND MAKE RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ADDRESSING THOSE HEALTH DISPARITIES.

     WHEREAS, the United States department of health and human services has made improving the health, safety and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals, known by the acronym "LGBT", a new topic of its nationwide public health campaign, "Healthy People 2020"; and

     WHEREAS, the "Healthy People 2020" recommendations include an increase in the number of population-based data systems used to monitor "Healthy People 2020" objectives, which includes in its core objectives a standardized set of questions that identify LGBT populations; and

     WHEREAS, there has been growing research and recognition of the roles that social stigma and discrimination play in the health of sexual and gender minorities and that the discussion has expanded beyond sexual behavior; and

     WHEREAS, LGBT individuals also appear to be at higher risk than their straight counterparts for some chronic conditions such as asthma, disability and arthritis; and

     WHEREAS, studies by the federal institute of medicine and the board on the health of select populations have found that lesbians and bisexual women have higher rates of breast cancer than heterosexual women; and

     WHEREAS, the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reports that lesbians and bisexual women get less routine health care than other women, including colon, breast and cervical cancer screening; and

     WHEREAS, research suggests that LGBT individuals face health disparities linked to societal stigma, discrimination and denial of their civil and human rights; and

     WHEREAS, according to a survey entitled "Injustice at Every Turn, A Report of the National Transgender Discrimination Survey", nineteen percent of transgender individuals surveyed report being refused medical care due to their transgender status or gender-nonconforming status, with people of color reporting even higher rates of medical care discrimination; and

     WHEREAS, over one-fourth, twenty-eight percent, of participants in the transgender survey report that they postponed medical care due to their experiences of discrimination in the medical care sector; and

     WHEREAS, the transgender population surveyed live in extreme poverty and are nearly four times more likely than the non-transgender population to have a household income of less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) a year; and

     WHEREAS, a staggering forty-one percent of respondents in the transgender survey report having attempted suicide, compared to one and six-tenths percent of the general population, with reported rates even higher for the following respondents:

          A. fifty-five percent among individuals who lost a job due to bias;

          B. fifty-one percent for individuals who were harassed or bullied in school;

          C. sixty-one percent for individuals who were victims of physical assault; and

          D. sixty-four percent for individuals who were victims of sexual assault; and

     WHEREAS, at least forty-seven thousand adults and twelve thousand five hundred adolescents in New Mexico identify as a sexual minority, a classification that includes lesbians, gays and bisexuals and is known by the acronym "LGB"; and

     WHEREAS, LGB adults are more likely to report having depression and anxiety and are more likely to have ever attempted suicide than their heterosexual or "straight" counterparts; and

     WHEREAS, LGB adults smoke cigarettes at twice the rate of straight adults, putting them at increased risk for tobacco- related diseases and death; and

     WHEREAS, smoking rates decreased significantly in the straight adult population between 2005 and 2010, but smoking rates increased in lesbian and gay populations and remained high in the bisexual population; and

     WHEREAS, LGB youths are twice as likely to be bullied at school than straight youths; and

     WHEREAS, LGB youths are three times more likely to skip school because of safety issues than straight youths; and

     WHEREAS, LGB youths are twice as likely to binge drink than straight youths; and

     WHEREAS, LGB youths are almost three times as likely to smoke cigarettes than straight youths; and

     WHEREAS, LGB youths are more likely to use marijuana or other drugs than straight youths; and

     WHEREAS, the department of health reports that gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men comprise the majority of human immunodeficiency virus cases since the beginning of the epidemic in New Mexico, accounting for two thousand one hundred ninety-eight cases or seventy and three one-hundredths percent of all cumulative diagnoses;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the secretary of health be requested to convene an "LGBTQ health disparities task force" to examine the current state of health and wellness among New Mexicans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer and to perform a gap analysis of the needs that exist and remain unaddressed; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the LGBTQ health disparities task force examine the disparities in physical and behavioral health outcomes that exist between New Mexicans who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer and New Mexicans who identify as heterosexual or straight, including, among the latter, those whose assigned gender matches their gender identity or orientation; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the LGBTQ health disparities task force be requested to employ a "health in all policies model" that examines the environmental, socioeconomic, cultural and other social determinants of health alongside areas such as epidemiology, population health, health care service utilization and health care finance and delivery systems; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretary of health be requested to invite to participate in the LGBTQ health disparities task force representatives with expertise relating to the following:

          A. New Mexico's diverse LGBTQ communities;

          B. health;

          C. the well-being of children and families;

          D. public benefits programs;

          E. law;

          F. education;

          G. aging;

          H. disability; and

          I. public administration; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the secretary of health be requested to invite to participate in the LGBTQ health disparities task force representatives from the department of health, the children, youth and families department, the human services department, the aging and long-term services department, the Indian affairs department, the public education department, the higher education department, equality New Mexico and the transgender resource center; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the LGBTQ health disparities task force be requested to compile and publish a report that includes the task force's recommendations for addressing the health disparities it has identified and to present the task force's report to the legislative health and human services committee and other appropriate legislative committees by November 1, 2015; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the governor; the secretaries of health, children, youth and families, human services, aging and long-term services, Indian affairs, public education and higher education; and to the executive directors of equality New Mexico and the transgender resource center.

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