Vivent Health statement on President Biden executive order in support of the LGBTQIA+ community

At Vivent Health, we value people regardless of the color of their skin, whom they love, where they live, their gender identity or how much or little money they have. Vivent Health thanks President Biden for supporting this commitment and further demonstrating his commitment to LGBTQIA+ equality.

More than 300 anti-LGBTQIA+ laws have been introduced in state legislatures over the past year, and many of them specifically target transgender children and their parents by banning access to medical care and support at school. President Biden is addressing these harmful, hateful, and discriminatory attacks head-on – not only by speaking up for America’s families but by taking action to stand up to the bullies targeting LGBTQIA+ people.

The president’s executive order builds upon his administration’s commitment to the LGBTQIA+ community by doing the following:

• Addressing discriminatory legislative attacks against LGBTQIA+ children and families, directing key agencies to protect families and children.
• Preventing so-called “conversion therapy” with a historic initiative to protect children from the harmful practice
• Safeguarding health care, and programs designed to prevent youth suicide.
• Supporting LGBTQIA+ children and families by launching a new initiative to protect foster youth, prevent homelessness, and improve access to federal programs.
• Taking new, additional steps to advance LGBTQI+ equality.

To help support impacted families, President Biden is charging the Department of Health and Human Services with protecting LGBTQIA+ children and families from attacks on their access to health care and has instructed HHS to release new sample policies for states on how to expand access to comprehensive health care for LGBTQIA+ patients. The president also is directing the Department of Education with addressing the impact of state laws that target LGBTQI+ students and has charged the department with releasing a sample school policy for achieving full inclusion for LGBTQI+ students.

These important steps are necessary to assure LGBTQIA+ individuals get the care they need and the protection necessary from bias, stigma and discrimination that is so harmful. These steps taken by President Biden are fundamentally important if we are ever going to get to the end of AIDS.

“Just be you,” President Biden told young people at a White House Pride event on Wednesday. “You are loved. You are heard. You are understood. You do belong.”

Well said, Mr. President.