LGBT Older Adults Face Unique Challenges to Successful Aging, New Report Finds

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May 31, 2017

LGBT Older Adults Face Unique Challenges to Successful Aging, New Report Finds

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The Movement Advancement Project (MAP) and SAGE recently released a report, "Understanding Issues Facing LGBT Older Adults," which aims to increase awareness of the diverse needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) elders across the country.

The report offers a comprehensive look at the experiences of LGBT elders, highlighting the challenges they face across a wide range of topics from health care to financial security and community support and their resilience in the face of these challenges.

As America's population rapidly ages (the number of people over 65 will double by 2050) so too do LGBT adults. Currently, there are more than 2.7 million LGBT adults aged 50 or older -- nearly one-third of all LGBT adults. Yet, in March 2017, the Trump administration aimed to exclude LGBT elders when his administration released a troubling new draft of the National Survey of Older Americans Act Participants (NSOAAP), a survey used to determine what services will be provided to older Americans in need.

Previously the survey included critical questions about sexual orientation and gender identity. However, the new draft of the survey removed all questions related to LGBT elders. According to the new report, data and research are more crucial than ever to identify and address the impact of discrimination and stigma in areas ranging from health care to housing to employment.

"As the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age, it is clear that we are woefully unprepared to provide for the needs of older LGBT adults," said Ineke Mushovic, executive director of MAP. "With substantial barriers to accessing care, compounded by lifelong discrimination and stigma, LGBT people face discrimination that makes it harder to age with support and dignity. We must understand -- and address -- the challenges facing LGBT elders, rather than shutting them out of aging services by offering care that doesn't meet their needs."

The report provides a snapshot of the demographics of LGBT elders, an aging community which is diverse regarding race and ethnicity, gender, and age. The report outlines how challenges, including a lifetime of discrimination in employment, accessing comprehensive health care, and housing-as well as the lack of legal and social relationship recognition-can lead to poverty, social isolation, and poorer mental and physical health.

The report offers high-level recommendations for addressing key disparities facing LGBT older adults including:

Passing comprehensive employment and housing nondiscrimination protections prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Ensuring that all senior housing, assisted living, and nursing homes have explicit nondiscrimination policies and train staff on competently serving LGBT elders.

Revising federal and state programs to recognize the relationships of same-sex couples where one partner died before the freedom to marry was the law of the land nationwide in 2015.

Designating LGBT elders as an underserved population within the Older Americans Act and within the Department of Health and Human Services, allowing government agencies to more easily target services

Passing the Restoration of Honor Act to make veterans discharged because of their sexual orientation or gender identity eligible for a number of programs, services, and benefits available at the state level.

"Aging in America isn't easy," said Michael Adams, CEO of SAGE. "With uncertainty about the future of our health care system, Social Security, and other programs older adults rely on, it's especially hard to plan for the future. It is even harder for LGBT elders who face discrimination within the very systems designed to support them as they age. That's why it's crucial that LGBT elders receive legal and social recognition, culturally competent care, welcoming and affordable housing, and supportive programs. From providing adequate long-term care that is culturally competent to ensuring that LGBT elders aren't erased from federal services to protecting our elders from religious-based discrimination, we have an obligation to do better."