State-Level Transgender-Specific Policies, Race/Ethnicity, and Health Care Use Among Transgender and Gender-Diverse People in the United States

Tamar Goldenberg , University of Michigan School of Public Health
Gary Harper, University of Michigan
Sari Reisner, Harvard University
Kristi Gamarel, University of Michigan
Kahle Erin, University of Michigan
Rob Stephenson, University of Michigan

The recent increase in U.S. state-level trans-specific policies may have positive and negative consequences for the health of transgender and gender diverse populations (i.e., people whose gender identity is not the same as their sex assigned at birth; TGGD). However, little is known about how these policies shape healthcare use among TGGD people. Using data from the 2015 U.S. Trans Survey, this study employs multilevel modeling to examine the relationships between state-level trans-specific policies and healthcare use among 23,368 TGGD people. Policies include those related to discrimination protections and allowances, health insurance, and requirements for changing legal documents. This analysis accounts for clustering by state and uses race as a random slope to examine racial differences in the relationships between policies and healthcare. Results indicate that state-level policies are associated with TGGD people’s healthcare use. These findings can be used to promote policies that improve TGGD people’s access to care.

See extended abstract

 Presented in Session 97. Research on Transgender and Gender Nonbinary/Nonconforming Populations