A trio of LGBTQ-related bills became law Thursday in an effort to shore up discrimination protections for sexual and gender minorities.
Gov. David Ige signed House Bill 2045 and Senate Bills 2136 and 2670 into law at a ceremony in Honolulu, saying the three bills will ensure the state’s LGBTQ community “is included in the circle of care that we provide for all of our residents.”
Of the three bills, the most elaborate is HB 2045, which prohibits health insurance companies from refusing to cover gender transition-related procedures when they are determined to be medically necessary.
“It’s not going to solve all of the transgender community’s problems with health care, but it will make it easier to get what we need in the state,” said KeivaLei Cadena, director of harm reduction services at Kumukahi Health and Wellness in Hilo.
Cadena said there is a dearth of trans health care services on the neighbor islands, with most transgender people on the Big Island having to travel to Honolulu for services, but added that even on Oahu there are complications.
“There are some procedures that an insurer won’t cover or the doctors don’t take insurance, so we end up having to go to the mainland, to California or Oregon or Washington to get them done,” Cadena said.
But Cadena added that the bill could have done more. An earlier draft included standards of trans health care crafted by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, but that language was removed during the legislative session.
But the bill still includes the “medically necessary” caveat, which Cadena said presents its own hurdles.
“It’s a bit — how do I say this politely — appalling that insurers can still deny these procedures,” said Beverly Tese, secretary and former president of Hawaii Island LGBTQ+ Pride. “Trans health care is still health care.”
However, Tese said that one of the other bills — SB 2670 — may help improve the availability of resources for LGBTQ people on the neighbor islands. That bill establishes a state LGBTQ+ commission which will be made up of 14 members — at least one of whom will be from the Big Island — to recommend legislation and programs for the LGBTQ community.
Greg Lupton, treasurer for Hawaii Island LGBTQ+ Pride, said he hopes the commission will, in particular, see promise in PRIZMA, Pride’s planned resource center on the Big Island for the LGBTQ community.
“At Pride, we get a lot of calls looking for LGBTQ doctors or other resources, and we want to set up a designated center that can help everyone from youth to seniors,” Tese said.
“Hopefully, the commission will look at PRIZMA and say, ‘We should give them some money,’” Lupton said.
The third bill, SB 2136, prohibits excluding someone from a jury based on that person’s gender identity and expression, adding those terms to the existing discrimination law that already prohibits juror exclusion based on race, religion, economic status, gender or disability.
“Any time there is a transgender bill like this, it is a step forward in normalizing a pretty marginalized community,” Cadena said.
“You are entitled to a jury of your peers, and we are your peers,” Tese added.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.