BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    Ó



                                                                  AB 673
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   April 12, 2011

                            ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
                              William W. Monning, Chair
            AB 673 (John A. Pérez and Lara) - As Introduced:  February 17, 
                                        2011
           
          SUBJECT  :  Office of Multicultural Health: LGBT communities.

           SUMMARY  :  Requires the Office of Multicultural Health (OMH), to 
          perform various duties on behalf of the Department of Public 
          Health (DPH) and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) 
          with respect to the state's lesbian, gay, bisexual, and 
          transgender (LGBT) communities.  Specifically,  this bill :   

          1)Requires OMH to do all of the following on behalf of DPH and 
            DHCS:

             a)   Perform strategic planning within these departments to 
               develop department-wide plans for implementation of goals 
               and objectives to close the gaps in health status and 
               access to care among the state's LGBT communities;

             b)   Coordinate pilot projects and planning projects funded 
               by the state that are related to improving the 
               effectiveness of services to the LGBT communities;

             c)   Communicate and disseminate information and perform a 
               liaison function within the departments and to providers of 
               health, social, educational, and support services to the 
               LGBT communities.  Requires OMH to consult regularly with 
               representatives from the LGBT communities, including health 
               providers, advocates, and consumers;

             d)   Serve as a resource for ensuring that programs keep data 
               and information regarding statistics and information based 
               on sexual orientation and gender identity; and,

             e)   Prepare and submit a biennial report to the Legislature 
               on the status of the above activities.

           EXISTING LAW  establishes OMH within DPH to perform various 
          duties on behalf of DPH and DHCS relating to the state's racial 
          and ethnic communities.









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           FISCAL EFFECT  :   This bill has not yet been heard by a fiscal 
          committee.

           COMMENTS  :    

           1)PURPOSE OF THIS BILL  .  According to the author, this bill 
            integrates health issues affecting the LGBT communities as 
            part of the mission of OMH.  The author maintains that 
            expanding the mission of OMH to include issues related to 
            sexual orientation and gender identity will help the state 
            develop and implement more inclusive public health policies 
            that benefit all California's diverse populations.  The author 
            also maintains that this bill additionally provides OMH with 
            the authority to seek funding for health initiatives that 
            target LGBT communities.

           2)OMH  .  OMH was created in August 1993 by Executive Order 
            W-58-93 and in 1999 was established in statute in AB 1107 
            (Cedillo), Chapter 146, Statutes of 1999.  OMH is a shared 
            policy office within the Director's Office of DPH and DHCS and 
            serves as an advisor to both departments and a liaison between 
            DPH, DHCS, and outside stakeholders.  OMH also has a 25-member 
            Multicultural Health Advisory Council that advises DPH and 
            DHCS on multicultural health issues.  The mission of OMH is to 
            increase the capacity of DPH and DHCS programs, health care 
            providers, and ethnic/racial communities to reduce gaps and 
            improve the provision of and access to health care among 
            California's diverse population groups.

           3)HEALTH DISPARITIES AND LGBT COMMUNITIES  .  LGBT individuals 
            encompass all races and ethnicities, religions, and social 
            classes.  Sexual orientation and gender identity questions are 
            not asked on most national or state surveys, making it 
            difficult to estimate the number of LGBT individuals and their 
            health needs.  A recently released Institute of Medicine (IOM) 
            report entitled, The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and 
            Transgender People: Building a Foundation for Better 
            Understanding, concluded that in order to advance 
            understanding of the health needs of all LGBT individuals, 
            researchers need more data about the demographics of these 
            populations, improved methods for collecting and analyzing 
            data, and an increased participation of sexual and gender 
            minorities in research.  The IOM report further states that 
            building a more solid evidence base for LGBT health concerns 
            will not only benefit LGBT individuals, but also add to the 








                                                                  AB 673
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            repository of health information that pertains to all people.

          According to the Center for American Progress (CAP), the LGBT 
            population continues to experience worse health outcomes than 
            their heterosexual counterparts.  Due to factors like low 
            rates of health insurance coverage, high rates of stress due 
            to systematic harassment and discrimination, and a lack of 
            cultural competency in the health care system.  CAP further 
            states that members of the LGBT population are at a higher 
            risk for cancer, mental illness, and other diseases, and are 
            more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, use drugs, and engage in 
            other risky behaviors.  CAP asserts that people who are both 
            LGBT and members of a racial or ethnic minority will often 
            face the highest level of health disparities.  For example, as 
            the National Coalition for LGBT Health notes, a black gay man 
            faces disparities common to the African American community as 
            well as those suffered by the LGBT community, and a 
            transgender Spanish-speaking woman, regardless of her sexual 
            orientation, must navigate multiple instances of 
            discrimination based on language, ethnicity, and gender.

          The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains that 
            the perspectives and needs of LGBT people should be routinely 
            considered in public health efforts to improve overall health 
            of every person and eliminate health disparities.

           4)SUPPORT  .  Equality California, the American Federation of 
            State, County and Municipal Employees, and the California 
            Immigrant Policy Center all write in support that integrating 
            health issues affecting the LGBT communities as part of the 
            mission of OMH will allow OMH to close the gap in health 
            status and access to care and address the health disparities 
            impacting LGBT communities.   
                 
            5)PRIOR LEGISLATION  .  AB 1107 (Cedillo), Ch. 146, Statutes of 
            1999, establishes OMH in DPH.  

                 
            REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION  :   

           Support 
           
          American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, 
          AFL-CIO
          California Immigrant Policy Center








                                                                  AB 673
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          Equality California

           Opposition 
           
          None on file.
           
          Analysis Prepared by  :    Tanya Robinson-Taylor / HEALTH / (916) 
          319-2097