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 January 24, 2022 Newsletter
Opportunities for the Community
Say YES! COVID Test – Keep Our Communities Safe
Get your FREE at-home test kits!
The Washington State Department of Health is offering free, rapid, at-home COVID-19 test kits to residents of eligible communities. Visit www.sayyescovidhometest.org for more information.
Supplies are limited but more will be ordered so check back later if none are available at this time.
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Health Insurance Discrimination and Gender Affirming Treatment
Did you know it is against state law for a health insurance carrier to deny coverage of certain procedures for transgender and gender non-conforming people? In 2021, the Legislature approved and the Governor signed SB5313, the “Health Insurance Discrimination and Gender Affirming Treatment Act.” In January 2022, the Office of the Insurance Commissioners adopted rules regarding the implementation of this law. You can read the final rules here. This law requires insurance plans in Washington to cover most procedures that otherwise would be considered “aesthetic”, but which are life-affirming for transgender and gender expansive folk.
If you believe that your insurance plan has denied coverage of a procedure because of your transgender or gender expansive identity, you can file a formal complaint with the Office of the Insurance Commissioner through their webpage here.
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Notice of Rulemaking – Hospitals Reporting on Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Information
Project background
Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill (E2SHB) 1272 passed the Legislature in 2021 and requires the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) to do rulemaking. We are considering revisions to Chapter 246-455 WAC, the rule that outlines hospital reporting requirements for patient discharge information (CHARS).
Among other changes, the rule may set new standards for reporting patient information related to race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, preferred language, any disability, and zip code. The specific reporting categories for each component are open for revision.
CHARS data are used to identify and analyze hospitalization trends; compare hospital stays across all reporting hospitals; and quantify health care access, quality, and cost.
We understand that the pandemic may have placed additional demands on your time and energy, and we are grateful to you for your assistance during this busy time. If you are unable to attend a listening session, you can provide written feedback to Katitza Holthaus at katitza.holthaus@doh.wa.gov by close of business on February 4, 2022.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEud-uopzIqHdcfKA7W2c__g_m15kbrFoBX
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
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DCYF Rulemaking Process for LGBTQIA+ Youth in Foster Care
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families has filed proposed rules that define and use LGBTQIA+ terms, reaffirm that foster care providers must comply with federal and state nondiscrimination laws, complete LGBTQIA+ culture training, and support and engage with all children in their care with dignity and respect regardless of actual or perceived race, ethnicity, culture, sex, or sexual orientation and gender identity. Additionally, the proposed rules update the standards for shared bedrooms based on a child’s gender identity.
DCYF is taking comments on the proposed rules through January 25. The best way to comment is through our online portal.
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Say It Out Loud Conference
We ARE Family
Honoring and recognizing the many structures and diverse expressions of families, biological and chosen.
The 2022 Annual SIOL Conference will be Virtual
Thursday, May 26
 The Saying It Out Loud (SIOL) Conference focuses on information sharing and networking to improve behavioral health services and decrease disparities faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ+) individuals. The conference strives to provide space to educate and share knowledge with attendees to better serve and support LGBTQ+ individuals and their families. Find out more about the SIOL conference by visiting this link.
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Legislative Session Updates
The LGBTQ Commission identifies legislative priorities annually and works with our Legislative Advisors and other legislators to advance bills that expand the rights of the community.
The current bills being monitored for 2022-23 so far are:
- Prescription drug affordability board
- Medicaid coverage of HIV drugs
- Possession of vapor, vapor products, tobacco, and tobacco products by minors (large percentage of LGBTQ+ youth affected)
- Keeping Department of Children, Youth, and Families working through an equity lens
- Decriminalization of sex work
- Increasing access to infertility treatment
- Increasing diversity, equity, and mental health at community and technical colleges
- Preserving abortion care rights
You can find a full list of the bills we are watching in the 2022 session through this link.
The LGBTQ and ally community in Washington has several ways to be involved in advocating for issues that are important to us. Here are some tools you can use:
Contact Your Legislator
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Find Your Legislator: Enter your address to find your current legislative and congressional district.
- Legislative Hotline: 1-800-562-6000 (TTY for Hearing Impaired 1-800-635-9993). Callers to the Hotline can leave a brief message for their district legislators, Governor or Lt. Governor on issues of concern or on questions they may have about bills or laws. For non-English speaking callers, the Hotline offers interpreter services for many languages.
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E-mail: Click a legislator’s name to go to the e-mail form for that legislator
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Visiting the Legislature: Information about directions, parking, Capitol Campus activities and events, and tours.
Bill Information
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Bill Information: Find out the latest information on a piece of legislation.
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Legislative Process: Learn how a bill becomes a law.
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How to Testify in Committee: Your opportunity to testify comes at the committee hearings. If you cannot appear before a committee, contact your legislator making your position on a bill known.
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TVW: Washington’s public affairs network, providing gavel-to-gavel coverage of Washington State Legislature sessions and coverage of the Washington State Supreme Court and public affairs events.
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LGBTQ Commission Committee Meetings
The Commission has a committee structure to carry out the work. Here are the upcoming calendar of meetings.
January 26th at 4:00 PM - Vulnerable Communities Committee
February 1st at 10:00 AM - Executive Committee
February 16th at 11:00 AM - Economic & Business Development Committee
For more information please visit here.
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Jobs Opportunities for LGBTQ Washingtonians
Check out the list of job opportunities for the community on our Careers Opportunities page by visiting this link.
We are excited to share job postings sent to the LGBTQ Commission. There are three requirements to be included on our page:
- The job needs to be able to be done in Washington State (virtual works)
- The business must have an inclusivity and/or equal opportunity statement
- The job posting must include a salary range.
Please send any job opportunity to share with the community to our Program Manager, Tracey Carlos (she/her) to tracey.carlos@lgbtq.wa.gov
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