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Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Is Indiana a welcoming state for LGBTQ+ people? A national report says it's worse than Texas
Indiana is among the least welcoming states for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans, according to a recent national study. Advocacy group Out Leadership this week released its seventh annual Business Climate Index Report, which assigns numbered scores to all 50 U.S. states based upon the government policies and local attitudes impacting LGBTQ+ communities. Indiana scored lower than Kentucky, Wyoming and Texas, where lawmakers in the Lone Star State have recently considered banning high school pride clubs. Indiana performed poorly across Midwest states as well, according to Out Leadership, while neighboring Illinois ranked among the safest places to live and work for LGBTQ+ people. Here's what we know about the study and why Indiana scored so low. Story continues after photo gallery. The recent findings by Out Leadership paint a "discouraging picture," it said, for LGBTQ+ Americans. The report's national average equality score fell across the country for a third year in a row, dropping slightly from 62.77 to 62.22. "While this drop may seem small, it indicates a deeper regression," stated the report. "Political polarization is widening, and following the 2024 elections, a new wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws is sweeping the nation." Data from the ACLU shows more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were filed in 2025 alone — nine of which were in Indiana. As many as 277,100 estimated Hoosiers, or roughly 5.4% of Indiana's population, identify as LGBTQ+, according to a 2023 study performed by the Williams Institute. The same report estimates the Midwest is home to roughly 2.9 million LGBTQ+ people — 21% of the region's total population. "Only 50.8% of LGBTQ+ workers in the Midwest are out at work," according to the report. According to Out Leadership, its annual Business Climate Index Report serves as a bellwether to alert companies on which U.S. states are making it harder for LGBTQ+ people to work and live. Where discrimination becomes a problem, they argue, queer Americans are more likely to leave, taking their skills with them. This can cost states money in the long run. The collective personal income of Indiana's LGBTQ+ population is conservatively around $12.6 billion, according to Out Leadership, which urges business leaders not to dismiss the needs of queer people. Out Leadership measured each U.S. state under five items of criteria, assigning each a total of 20 points. Here's how Indiana performed: Legal & Nondiscrimination Protections: Indiana received 9 out of 20 points. Youth & Family Support: Indiana received 6.57 out of 20 points. Political & Religious Attitudes: Indiana received 9.6 out of 20 points. Health Access & Safety: Indiana received 6.5 out of 20 points. Work Environment & Employment: Indiana received 11 out of 20 points. The Hoosier State earned a total score of 42.67 out of a possible 100 points, according to Indiana's LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index Report. The low score it received placed Indiana near the bottom of the rankings, and gave Indiana the dubious distinction of being named a "high risk" area for LGBTQ+ people. In total, Indiana ranked 38th out of 50 states, with Arkansas receiving the worst score overall. Accounting for Indiana's low score, Out Leadership cited several laws passed by Indiana's state legislature in recent years harmful to the LGBTQ+ community. They include restricting the ability of pronouns at schools, blocking gender affirming care and banning transgender women from playing collegiate sports. A full copy of Indiana's Business State Climate Index Report with more details can be accessed online at Story continues after photo gallery. In order of worst to better, states that appeared at the bottom of the rankings are as followed: Arkansas: 29.50 South Carolina: 32.15 Louisiana: 33.00 South Dakota: 34.80 Tennessee: 35.00 Both Massachusetts and New York tied for first place, according to the report, with Midwest states like Illinois and Minnesota appearing among the top ten places for LGBTQ+ people to work and live. Massachusetts: 93.67 New York: 93.67 Connecticut: 92.27 New Jersey: 90.07 Vermont: 89.50 Indiana ranked almost at the bottom of the list of regional Midwest states for LGBTQ+ people, coming in 10th place out of 12 states. The rankings are as follows: Illinois: 88.47 Minnesota: 87.33 Michigan: 82.07 Wisconsin: 68.72 North Dakota: 56.47 Nebraska: 53.4 Kansas: 51.8 Iowa: 47.45 Missouri: 43.60 Indiana: 42.67 Ohio: 42.35 South Dakota: 34.8 More about Pride Month in Indianapolis: Here's how Indy's LGBTQ+ community is celebrating Pride 🌈 Story continues after photo gallery. Massachusetts: 93.67 New York: 93.67 Connecticut: 92.27 New Jersey: 90.07 Vermont: 89.50 Maine: 88.67 Illinois: 88.47 Colorado: 87.67 Minnesota: 87.33 Oregon: 87.00 New Mexico: 86.93 California: 86.67 Rhode Island: 85.70 Maryland: 84.83 Washington: 84.83 Michigan: 82.07 Hawaii: 81.27 Virginia: 80.47 Nevada: 79.67 New Hampshire: 76.08 Delaware: 71.43 Wisconsin: 68.72 Pennsylvania: 66.27 Arizona: 61.05 North Dakota: 56.47 Alaska: 56.00 Georgia: 53.50 Nebraska: 53.40 North Carolina: 53.05 Utah: 52.50 Kansas: 51.80 Iowa: 47.45 West Virginia: 46.90 Wyoming: 45.42 Texas: 44.70 Missouri: 43.60 Kentucky: 43.25 Indiana: 42.67 Ohio: 42.35 Florida: 42.20 Idaho: 42.07 Montana: 40.62 Alabama: 39.40 Oklahoma: 37.62 Mississippi: 37.27 Tennessee: 35.00 South Dakota: 34.80 Louisiana: 33.00 South Carolina: 32.15 Arkansas: 29.50 John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at JTufts@ Find him on BlueSky at JohnWritesStuff. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana ranks among worst states for LGBTQ+ people to live and work
Indianapolis Star
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Is Indiana a welcoming state for LGBTQ+ people? A national report says it's worse than Texas
Indiana is among the least welcoming states for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans, according to a recent national study. Advocacy group Out Leadership this week released its seventh annual Business Climate Index Report, which assigns numbered scores to all 50 U.S. states based upon the government policies and local attitudes impacting LGBTQ+ communities. Indiana scored lower than Kentucky, Wyoming and Texas, where lawmakers in the Lone Star State have recently considered banning high school pride clubs. Indiana performed poorly across Midwest states as well, according to Out Leadership, while neighboring Illinois ranked among the safest places to live and work for LGBTQ+ people. Here's what we know about the study and why Indiana scored so low. Story continues after photo gallery. The recent findings by Out Leadership paint a "discouraging picture," it said, for LGBTQ+ Americans. The report's national average equality score fell across the country for a third year in a row, dropping slightly from 62.77 to 62.22. "While this drop may seem small, it indicates a deeper regression," stated the report. "Political polarization is widening, and following the 2024 elections, a new wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws is sweeping the nation." Data from the ACLU shows more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were filed in 2025 alone — nine of which were in Indiana. As many as 277,100 estimated Hoosiers, or roughly 5.4% of Indiana's population, identify as LGBTQ+, according to a 2023 study performed by the Williams Institute. The same report estimates the Midwest is home to roughly 2.9 million LGBTQ+ people — 21% of the region's total population. "Only 50.8% of LGBTQ+ workers in the Midwest are out at work," according to the report. According to Out Leadership, its annual Business Climate Index Report serves as a bellwether to alert companies on which U.S. states are making it harder for LGBTQ+ people to work and live. Where discrimination becomes a problem, they argue, queer Americans are more likely to leave, taking their skills with them. This can cost states money in the long run. The collective personal income of Indiana's LGBTQ+ population is conservatively around $12.6 billion, according to Out Leadership, which urges business leaders not to dismiss the needs of queer people. Out Leadership measured each U.S. state under five items of criteria, assigning each a total of 20 points. Here's how Indiana performed: The Hoosier State earned a total score of 42.67 out of a possible 100 points, according to Indiana's LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index Report. The low score it received placed Indiana near the bottom of the rankings, and gave Indiana the dubious distinction of being named a "high risk" area for LGBTQ+ people. In total, Indiana ranked 38th out of 50 states, with Arkansas receiving the worst score overall. Accounting for Indiana's low score, Out Leadership cited several laws passed by Indiana's state legislature in recent years harmful to the LGBTQ+ community. They include restricting the ability of pronouns at schools, blocking gender affirming care and banning transgender women from playing collegiate sports. A full copy of Indiana's Business State Climate Index Report with more details can be accessed online at Story continues after photo gallery. In order of worst to better, states that appeared at the bottom of the rankings are as followed: Both Massachusetts and New York tied for first place, according to the report, with Midwest states like Illinois and Minnesota appearing among the top ten places for LGBTQ+ people to work and live. Indiana ranked almost at the bottom of the list of regional Midwest states for LGBTQ+ people, coming in 10th place out of 12 states. The rankings are as follows: Story continues after photo gallery.
Indianapolis Star
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indianapolis Star
Is Indiana a welcoming state for LGBTQ+ people? A national report says it's worse than Texas
Indiana is among the least welcoming states for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer Americans, according to a recent national study. Advocacy group Out Leadership this week released its seventh annual Business Climate Index Report, which assigns numbered scores to all 50 U.S. states based upon the government policies and local attitudes impacting LGBTQ+ communities. Indiana scored lower than Kentucky, Wyoming and Texas, where lawmakers in the Lone Star State have recently considered banning high school pride clubs. Indiana performed poorly across Midwest states as well, according to Out Leadership, while neighboring Illinois ranked among the safest places to live and work for LGBTQ+ people. Here's what we know about the study and why Indiana scored so low. Story continues after photo gallery. The recent findings by Out Leadership paint a "discouraging picture," it said, for LGBTQ+ Americans. The report's national average equality score fell across the country for a third year in a row, dropping slightly from 62.77 to 62.22. "While this drop may seem small, it indicates a deeper regression," stated the report. "Political polarization is widening, and following the 2024 elections, a new wave of anti-LGBTQ+ laws is sweeping the nation." Data from the ACLU shows more than 500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills were filed in 2025 alone — nine of which were in Indiana. As many as 277,100 estimated Hoosiers, or roughly 5.4% of Indiana's population, identify as LGBTQ+, according to a 2023 study performed by the Williams Institute. The same report estimates the Midwest is home to roughly 2.9 million LGBTQ+ people — 21% of the region's total population. "Only 50.8% of LGBTQ+ workers in the Midwest are out at work," according to the report. According to Out Leadership, its annual Business Climate Index Report serves as a bellwether to alert companies on which U.S. states are making it harder for LGBTQ+ people to work and live. Where discrimination becomes a problem, they argue, queer Americans are more likely to leave, taking their skills with them. This can cost states money in the long run. The collective personal income of Indiana's LGBTQ+ population is conservatively around $12.6 billion, according to Out Leadership, which urges business leaders not to dismiss the needs of queer people. Out Leadership measured each U.S. state under five items of criteria, assigning each a total of 20 points. Here's how Indiana performed: The Hoosier State earned a total score of 42.67 out of a possible 100 points, according to Indiana's LGBTQ+ Business Climate Index Report. The low score it received placed Indiana near the bottom of the rankings, and gave Indiana the dubious distinction of being named a "high risk" area for LGBTQ+ people. In total, Indiana ranked 38th out of 50 states, with Arkansas receiving the worst score overall. Accounting for Indiana's low score, Out Leadership cited several laws passed by Indiana's state legislature in recent years harmful to the LGBTQ+ community. They include restricting the ability of pronouns at schools, blocking gender affirming care and banning transgender women from playing collegiate sports. A full copy of Indiana's Business State Climate Index Report with more details can be accessed online at Story continues after photo gallery. In order of worst to better, states that appeared at the bottom of the rankings are as followed: Both Massachusetts and New York tied for first place, according to the report, with Midwest states like Illinois and Minnesota appearing among the top ten places for LGBTQ+ people to work and live. Indiana ranked almost at the bottom of the list of regional Midwest states for LGBTQ+ people, coming in 10th place out of 12 states. The rankings are as follows: More about Pride Month in Indianapolis: Here's how Indy's LGBTQ+ community is celebrating Pride 🌈 Story continues after photo gallery.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
GOP Tax Bill Would Cut Gender-Affirming Care From Medicaid For All Ages
Marley Gotterer was recovering from surgery at home in New York when she first heard that House Republicans had passed a massive domestic policy package in the wee hours of Thursday morning. She had prepared for nearly two years for her facial feminization surgery, a series of surgical procedures. She met with surgeons, therapists and case managers at Amida Care, a nonprofit health plan for LGBTQ+ Medicaid recipients and those living with HIV. Her surgery, which was fully covered under Medicaid, has already made a huge difference in her life and for her mental health. She now feels an instant lightness when she sees herself in the mirror. She said she caught a glimpse of herself on a video call with friends and asked if someone had put a beauty filter on. 'I had intense gender euphoria and I felt at home in myself,' the 27-year-old comedian said. 'I feel like there's this new start in life that I'm excited about and hopeful for.' But that hope has now been tempered. The bill the House passed — called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — outlines some of the largest cuts to Medicaid in U.S. history while proposing a $4 trillion tax cut for the ultra-wealthy. The bill would bar Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program from covering gender-affirming care for adults and minors alike, and would prohibit health plans offered under the Affordable Care Act from covering such care as an essential health benefit. If the dramatic tax bill becomes law, it could jeopardize access to care for hundreds of thousands of trans adults and minors. Around 185,000 transgender adults rely on Medicaid as their primary source of health insurance, according to a report released this month by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. Another study found that nearly 25% of trans adults are on Medicaid. Research shows that transgender people are also more likely to be uninsured, underemployed and experiencing food insecurity compared to their cisgender peers, often due to high rates of employment discrimination and harassment in the workplace. The Republican tax bill initially proposed slashing Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming care for minors only. But hours before the final vote, House Republican leadership issued 42 pages of amendments with last-minute changes, including striking the phrase 'for minors' from the ban on transition coverage under Medicaid, effectively extending it to people of all ages. The bill could also codify changes to the Affordable Care Act that the Trump administration first unveiled in March. At the time, the White House issued a rule change for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that would remove gender-affirming care from the list of essential health benefits in insurance plans. Under the ACA, which President Barack Obama signed into law in 2010, health insurance plans are currently required to cover care that falls into 10 categories of essential health benefits, including emergency services, maternity care, mental health, pediatric care and prescription drugs. All together, this omnibus bill's changes to Medicaid and the ACA could have a significant effect on hundreds of thousands of trans adults in the U.S. and an unknown number of trans youth. The Senate is expected to make some major changes to the bill by July, but LGBTQ+ advocates don't foresee Republican senators backtracking on the provisions related to transgender care. Currently, Medicaid programs in 27 states and the District of Columbia have policies that explicitly include coverage for transgender-related health care, according to the Movement Advancement Project. If President Donald Trump signs some version of this bill into law, it would force states to shoulder the cost of coverage for trans health care, said Ames Simmons, a lawyer and senior teaching fellow at Duke University School of Law. But given the scope of the bill's other cuts — including to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — Simmons is not optimistic that states would be able to help recoup all of these social safety nets. 'If we think broadly about trans people being more likely to be low-income for many reasons, like histories of employment discrimination, which if you don't have a job in our country, it's harder and more expensive to get health insurance,' he said. 'I think it's not at all a realistic option to think that trans people who are no longer able to get Medicaid coverage for the treatment of gender dysphoria would easily be able to find coverage elsewhere on the private market,' he added. Honey Pluton, a 31-year-old trans man and bartender in New York City, said he can't wrap his head around what it would mean to lose access to his hormone therapy, which he now gets through Medicaid. 'I don't even know how much it would cost a month,' he said, noting that he would do whatever he could to ensure that he could continue care. 'Thinking about adding another expense seems intimidating outside of how it impacts me financially. It's just an existential threat.' Beyond specific cuts to gender-affirming care, the bill also takes aim at Planned Parenthood and clinics that provide abortion care. This could spell trouble not only for patients seeking abortions but for trans and nonbinary patients who use Planned Parenthood's transgender care services. In 2021, over 35,000 patients sought hormone replacement therapy at Planned Parenthood locations nationwide, Dr. Bhavik Kumar, the medical director of primary and trans care at Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast, told NPR. Since returning to office in January, Trump has taken many steps to curtail trans people's access to gender-affirming care. Within the first few weeks of his presidency, he signed an executive order announcing the government will only recognize two immutable sexes, barred trans women and girls from playing on female sports teams, blocked trans people from serving in the military, and threatened to pull millions of dollars in federal funding from hospitals and organizations that serve LGBTQ+ people and people living with HIV. Dr. David Johns, the executive director of the National Black Justice Collective, called the new GOP tax bill a calculated effort to try to erase trans people from public life. 'The same bill slashes Medicaid and SNAP benefits, guts civil rights and disability enforcement, and strips millions of Americans—disproportionately Black, Brown, poor, disabled, and queer—of access to basic health services,' Johns said in a statement. 'This isn't about fiscal responsibility. It's about using trans lives as a political wedge to force through a budget that serves billionaires and punishes the most vulnerable.' Gun Silencers, Tanning Beds And Other Weird Stuff Tucked Into The GOP's Tax Bill The Massive Change Tucked In The GOP Tax Bill That No One's Talking About Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill' Faces Uphill Battle In The Senate
The Intercept
22-05-2025
- Health
- The Intercept
Republicans Launch Midnight Attack on Health Care Access for Trans Americans
After days of infighting over Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' the House GOP passed reconciliation legislation in the dead of the night — with one major giveaway to the far-right. Late Wednesday, Congressional Republicans amended the bill to prohibit the use of Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care, potentially ripping healthcare access away from hundreds of thousands of transgender Americans. An earlier version of the legislation targeted Medicaid funding for gender-affirming care for minors. In a midnight-hour maneuver, Republicans removed the word 'minors' from that provision, prohibiting the use of Medicaid funding for 'gender-transition procedures' for children as well as adults. The legislation broadly defines 'gender-transition procedures' as everything from surgery to hormone therapy. It needs only a simple majority to pass the Senate. Experts on transgender health care said that if this provision advances, it could make an already-dire landscape for transgender care significantly worse. They described devastating consequences for the hundreds of thousands of transgender Americans who rely on Medicaid that will be further compounded by the roughly $700 billion in cuts to the health program in the GOP bill. 'Trans folks are more likely to be lower income and subsequently more likely to qualify for [Medicaid],' said Aspen Ruhlin, community manager at the Mabel Wadsworth Center in Bangor, Maine, which provides LGBTQ+ care, including gender-affirming hormone therapy, as well as abortion care and other health care services. 'This would have a devastating impact on folks, as they would lose coverage for what is normal and needed health care.' 'There's not good coverage to begin with.' 'We have seen that in states that have fought to ban gender-affirming care. They always start with minors and then … trojan horse it into banning coverage for or banning access to gender-affirming care generally,' they said. According to a 2022 report from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, roughly 276,000 transgender adults are enrolled in Medicaid in the United States. Even without the new legislation, accessing gender-affirming care is incredibly difficult. According to the Williams Institute report, 38,000 transgender adults with Medicaid live in states that expressly deny access to gender-affirming care, and 74,000 transgender Medicaid beneficiaries live in states without laws explicitly protecting coverage. 'There's not good coverage to begin with,' said Dr. Lakshmi Sundaresan, a family medicine physician in Michigan who provides gender-affirming services but not surgery. 'We are often already fighting this uphill battle for coverage.' Sundaresan argued that GOP lawmakers are trying to pretend as if gender-affirming care is a financial burden on the United States, even as they cut basic services for the overwhelming majority of Americans to grant generous tax cuts for the wealthy. 'The impacts of those large scale cuts are going to be felt by the lay public, because they're going to lose coverage, or people are going to basically become bankrupt over time if they have prolonged hospitalizations,' she said. Ruhlin said it's unclear exactly how the bill would be applied in Maine or in other states with similar laws. In 2023, the state legislature passed a law requiring the state's Medicaid program, MaineCare, to cover gender-affirming care. Ruhlin said it's possible Maine would still be allowed to use state Medicaid dollars to provide gender-affirming care, but it's not a foregone conclusion. It also likely means this provision will be subject to lawsuits. For Ruhlin, the harm caused by these types of restrictions goes deeper than the financial burden it would place on access to gender-affirming care; it's also about the message it sends. 'Even trans folks who don't have the same needs or goals around gender access would still be negatively impacted by this because it's the social impact of reinforcing transphobia in our society,' they said.
