The COVID-19 pandemic has made it critical for health information providers across the country to stay informed about the special protections and benefits health insurance coverage offers to the safety of LGBTQ community members. This free on-demand webinar helps educate public library practitioners about available health insurance coverage options, benefits, and special federal protections exclusively for LGBTQ communities during the Open Enrollment period of the Affordable Care Act (Nov. 1–Dec. 15, 2020 for plans that start Jan. 1. 2021). It also covers Special Enrollment Period eligibility for people who have experienced lifetime events, such as losing a job or having a baby.

Originally presented October 21, 2020.

This webinar was made possible by funding from Community Catalyst, in partnership with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, as a part of PLA’s Libraries Connecting You to Coverage initiative.

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this on-demand webinar, participants will be able to:

• Describe the major health and healthcare access disparities affecting the LGBTQ population, including specific subpopulations such as transgender people;
• Describe the provisions of the Affordable Care Act that have relevance for addressing these disparities;
• Explain specific strategies that library workers, consumer assistance personnel, and other health information providers can use to effectively connect with LGBTQ community members;
• Identify the role of Enrollment Assistors and Navigators in their communities who can help LGBTQ people enroll in available insurance; and
• Outline successful strategies for library outreach, engagement, and enrollment at the local level.

Additional Resources

• Slideshows:
  • Leighann Wood, Moderator, PLA (PDF)
  • Katie Keith (PDF)
  • Vanessa Lynn Kitzie (PDF)
• Out2Enroll:
  • What Can Libraries Do? (PDF)
  • Resources (PDF)
• PLA Handout (PDF)
• Chat Transcript (PDF)

Who Should Attend

This on-demand webinar is intended for public library staff with limited prior knowledge of health insurance options, ACA enrollment, health disparities, and related resources. It will be useful to front line staff as well as managers and administrators.

Instructors

Katie Keith is an attorney in Washington, DC, and a member of the Steering Committee of , a national initiative to connect LGBTQ people with new coverage options under the Affordable Care Act. She is also a faculty member at Georgetown University, where she teaches courses on the Affordable Care Act and LGBT health law and policy.

Vanessa Lynn Kitzie, PhD, is assistant professor in the School of Information Science at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. She studies the information practices of marginalized groups, with a focus on individuals identifying as LGBTQIA+. Her most recent work focuses on the . Research findings inform how information centers, such as libraries, and systems can better serve these individuals. Kitzie's work is interdisciplinary, spanning library and information science, communication, sociology, and critical studies.