Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier

June is Pride Month, and according to SAGE (Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders) there are around 3 million LGBTQ seniors 65+ living in the United States. The discrimination that LGBTQ seniors have faced both socially and legally over their lifetimes has taken a toll on their health and well-being. This is especially true when it comes to seeking health care and buying their prescriptions. LGBTQ individuals are more likely to put off their concerns, in many cases letting their illnesses progress which only increases their treatment costs.

LGBTQ individuals have higher rates of cancer, mental health concerns, and cardiovascular diseases according to the National Council on Aging. The lifesaving medicines used to treat these conditions are exorbitantly priced, but when we add to that the fact that LGBTQ people have higher rates of poverty the problem is just compounded.

We need Congresswoman Ashley Hinson to be an ally for once and vote for the Lower Drug Costs Now Act (H.R. 3) allowing Medicare and private insurance to negotiate drug prices. When pharmaceutical corporations are allowed to set the price without transparency, LGBTQ older Americans have to decide whether to get their prescriptions or face the further health consequences of going without.

Logun Buckley, Waterloo