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Obama Administration Announces Health Grants To Help Transgender Population

By Kellan Baker on ThinkProgress.org

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) has announced two new grant competitions focusing on connecting HIV-positive transgender women of color with health care services, including primary care and HIV-related care.

The first grant opportunity, which is designed to improve the overall quality of HIV care for transgender women of color, will award each of up to eight grantees $300,000 annually for five years. The demonstration sites will develop, implement, and evaluate innovative programs designed to connect these women with timely and appropriate care. These programs will also help them stay in touch with providers who can provide a range of primary and HIV-related services.

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Lambda Legal sues state of Oregon to defend health care rights of transgender man

M. Drew Levasseur - Transgender rights attorney working on the suit

This morning Lambda Legal filed suit against the state of Oregon on behalf of transgender employee Alec Esquivel, who was denied a hysterectomy that was deemed medically necessary by his doctor.

“Alec Esquivel was denied coverage for a medically necessary procedure specifically because he is transgender. This type of discrimination is unlawful and risks the health of hardworking, productive citizens of Oregon,” said Dru Levasseur, Transgender Rights Attorney at Lambda Legal. “By not covering this procedure, the state is refusing to provide him with the same health care coverage as his co-workers.”

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Are you a (cis)man who has sex with transmen or women? Take this survey and earn some cash

Besides earning some dolla dolla bills you can also feel good about participating in a health study from All Gender Health Online.

Thanks for your interest in All Gender Health Online. Before participating in the study, please review the following information. You may participate in the study only if you agree to the terms outlined here and if you meet the participation eligibility criteria. You can only participate in this study once. Please note that we will use current technology to confirm the validity of your response and may terminate your participation in this study if we determine that you do not meet eligibility criteria or have participated more than once.

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Planned Parenthood’s ‘Equal Access Fund’ interview and trivia night fundraiser

DJ Freddie Fagula holds a feminist icon sculpture in support of Planned Parenthood

Planned Parenthood has been in the news a lot lately, fighting for there very existence. But even when PP is “completely” funded, there scope is technically limited to the prevention of baby-making. Lots of women take advantage of their medical services, contraceptives and other resources. But not every woman needs the meds or paps because she has sex with men, and while plenty of us fudge the truth in order to get services local PP workers knew that this policy was unfair and wanted to do something about it. That’s why they created the Equal Access Fund.

The Equal Access Fund, established by PPCW, gives low-income lesbians, bisexual women and trans people the same access to affordable annual exams and Pap tests as low-income heterosexual women, and increases access to health care to an underserved population. The fund removes the requirement of seeking contraception to access no-cost annual exams.

I a recent survey in three Portland health centers, front-line staff members estimated that in a single month, six lesbians decided not to access services because they could not afford them and were not eligible for CCare. We estimate that annually 150-175 women in our service area decide not to access services because they cannot afford it.

We also  suspect that man more low-income lesbian, bisexual and trans patients at PPCW request and take home contraception they don’t require because they need help from FPEP to pay for their services This subterfuge puts up additional barriers between patients and their health care providers, making an honest discussion about relationships, sexual behavior and risk factors even more difficult for women who may be already hesitant to speak freely.

Consistently facing financial woes, the completely donor funded EAF is holding a trivia night benefit tomorrow night at Crush (1400 SE Morrison). We got a chance to sit down with some of the organizers on the eve of their big fundraiser to ask a little bit more about the program.

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Trans Justice: health care discrimination, me, you, and everyone we know

This is a re-posting of a Facebook message from trans advocate Tash Shatz.

When I was sixteen I woke up one night in a cold sweat in the worst pain I had ever experienced. I felt like I was being repeatedly stabbed in my abdomen. My only guess was that I was experiencing super heinous period cramps. I was nauseous and the pain washed over me in violent waves. My mom and I were soon on our way to the emergency room, and we found out I was passing the first of what would be many kidney stones.

That night at the ER my experience was typical of what would happen as I visited the hospital several times over the next few years. Staff members stumbled over pronouns, sporadically use my preferred name, and asked me what medications I was on. When I answered “testosterone,” the hospital staff launched into a line of questioning about my gender identity – what surgeries had I had? What did I plan to have? What did transgender mean? On more than one of my visits I heard nurses whispering behind the patterned curtain across the space which held my bed. They were talking about my gender.

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The weekend in glowing lasers, lots of meat, last summer Gaycation and plenty of 'Thee Satisfaction'

THEESatisfaction plays Friday at Rotture as part of Menz Room. Photo courtesy of Maceo Paisley

Tonight

sPLURt! episode 2 – I’m starting this weekend off tonight because how could I not highlight a bukakke-themed 90?s rave revival party? Really, I kinda think the 90s are back with a vengeance and I did always have a hard time letting go of the Peace, Love, Unity, Respect mantra. Plus with a photo like theirs and a promise to go home covered in something it’s likely we’ll all be pre-squirtin’ before the real weekend even begins.

Thursday

Drag Queen Bingo wine and food tasting – Hosted by eminent drag queen MC Poison Waters how can you go wrong with tiny tasty hors d’oeuvres and some fancy sips?

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