With the recent passage of the health care reform bill, Americans have different feelings about the reform.
But in a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive, a global market research and consulting firm, and Witeck-Combs Communications, a strategic public relations and marketing communications firm with expertise in the LGBT market, lesbians and gay men showed broad support for health care reform.
While 46 percent of all Americans support reform, 79 percent of gay men and lesbians were found to support health care reform, compared to 44 percent of heterosexual adults. Among all LGBT adults, 60 percent reported being in support of the reform.
"We have long seen evidence of health disparities across the entire LGBT population, particularly among lesbians, bisexual women and transgender adults," said Bob Witeck, CEO of Witeck-Combs Communications. "These findings appear to underscore the priority that many LGBT Americans give to affordable access to quality health care—and may help explain, in part, why support for national health care reform is unusually deep."
Currently more heterosexual adults have health insurance than do LGBT adults, with 85 percent of heterosexuals reporting they have health coverage compared to 77 percent of all LGBT adults. Eighty-one percent of gay men and lesbians have health coverage, while 73 percent of lesbians and 68 percent of bisexuals have coverage.
Most Americans receive health coverage through their employers, but the survey found that more gay men and lesbians currently receive employer-sponsored insurance than heterosexuals, 53 percent and 47 percent, respectively. Among LGBT adults as a whole, 51 percent receive employer-sponsored health coverage, and 40 percent of lesbians and bisexuals each reported receiving insurance through their employers.
When it comes to health insurance providers marketing their products specifically to the LGBT community, including uses of same-sex couple imagery and tailored messages, the survey found that most survey participants were not aware of any such marketing campaigns. However, the LGBT community was more likely to report being aware of such marketing strategies, with 12 percent reporting knowledge of a health insurance provider using LGBT-specific marketing, compared to just 4 percent of heterosexuals reporting knowledge of such marketing campaigns.
Compared to heterosexuals, LGBT survey participants claimed that seeing print advertisements for health insurance companies that provide general information about its insurance products and that reach out to gay individuals by including images of gay and lesbian people and/or tailored wording is of more importance when considering a health insurance provider—26 percent of heterosexuals considered it an important factor, compared to 75 percent of LGBT participants. Lesbians in particular were found to find this of great importance when considering health insurance companies, with 94 percent reporting it an important factor.
"LGBT consumers, including same-sex couples and families, are eager for meaningful information, along with relevant products, services and opportunities that speak to them directly, respectfully and consistently," Witeck said.
The survey, which included 2,918 American adults, with 325 identifying as LGBT, was conducted online between April 12 and April 19.
For more information about the findings of this survey and its methodology, download the press release here.
