If you are a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered Missourian your chances of finding and getting the same level of health care as the rest of the state are significantly reduced.
According to a new study by the Missouri Foundation for Health, if you’re LGBT, you’re more likely to face conditions including heart disease, asthma, obesity, smoking-related illness, substance abuse and depression.
Wednesday on Up to Date, guest host Suzanne Hogan welcomes Ryan Barker of the Missouri Foundation for Health and Steven Lowman from the Kansas City Free Health Clinic, to discuss the health needs of the LGBT population in Missouri. We’ll examine what causes the disparities between LGBT and heterosexual Missourians, and look at recommended policies that can promote health equity.
MORE INFORMATION:
Read the Missouri Foundation for Health's report here.
Gay & Lesbian Medical Association Provider List
Ryan Barker, MSW, MPPA is the Director of Health Policy at the Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH). He joined the Foundation in 2002 and assisted in the establishment and growth of the Health Policy area at MFH. In the last 9 years his research has focused on issues such as Missouri’s Medicaid program, increasing health equity, and strategies to provide quality, affordable health coverage to all Missourians. Before joining MFH, Ryan worked at The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati focusing on program evaluation and grantmaking in the area of severe mental illness. Before entering the foundation world, Ryan was a clinical social worker with runaway and homeless youth at social service agencies in Cincinnati, Ohio and Portland, Oregon. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at Washington University’s Brown School of Social Work in the Institute for Public Health. Ryan obtained a Bachelor in Science from Xavier University, a Master in Social Work from the University of Cincinnati, and a Master in Public Policy Administration from the University of Missouri - St. Louis.
