Building on the Affordable Care Act to Make the Health System Work for Young Gay Men: An Action Plan

This Action Plan is a tool for advocates who are working to improve the health system for young gay men.  With implementation of the Affordable Care Act well underway, there is an opportunity to both get young gay men enrolled in insurance coverage and, equally important, to work at the state and local levels to improve the benefits and delivery systems they enroll in.

Young gay men are a population with distinct needs, and coverage alone will not ensure they receive consistent, high quality health care.  Focused efforts are needed to explain the importance of health coverage, facilitate enrollment in coverage, ensure adequacy of benefits and availability of culturally competent provider networks, address structural barriers to care, and support their engagement with the health system once they obtain coverage.  This Action Plan identifies these opportunities and provides the tools and resources advocates need to pursue them.