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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or other sexual and gender minorities (LGBTQ+) populations in the United States continue to experience disparities in health and health care. In this position paper, the American College of Physicians reaffirms and updates much of its longstanding policy on LGBTQ+ health. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or other sexual and gender minorities (LGBTQ+) populations in the United States continue to experience disparities in health and health care. Discrimination in both health care and society at large negatively affects LGBTQ+ health. Although progress has been made in addressing health disparities and reducing social inequality for these populations, new challenges have emerged. There is a pressing need for physicians and other health professionals to take a stance against discriminatory policies as renewed federal and state public policy efforts increasingly impose medically unnecessary restrictions on the provision of gender-affirming care. In this position paper, the American College of Physicians (ACP) reaffirms and updates much of its long-standing policy on LGBTQ+ health to strongly support access to evidence-based, clinically indicated gender-affirming care and oppose political efforts to interfere in the patient–physician relationship. Furthermore, ACP opposes institutional and legal restrictions on undergraduate, graduate, and continuing medical education and training on gender-affirming care and LGBTQ+ health issues. This paper also offers policy recommendations to protect the right of all people to participate in public life free from discrimination on the basis of their gender identity or sexual orientation and encourages the deployment of inclusive, nondiscriminatory, and evidence-based blood donation policies for members of LGBTQ+ communities. Underlying these beliefs is a reaffirmed commitment to promoting equitable access to quality care for all people regardless of their sexual orientation and gender identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Access to safe and stable housing has both a direct and indirect effect on health. Homeless persons experience unique health challenges and require a health care system and professionals designed to meet their distinct needs. In this position paper, the American College of Physicians (ACP) recognizes the need to address universal access to housing to fulfil one's right to health. ACP offers several recommendations to prevent homelessness and promote the necessary health care and social needs of homeless populations. Access to safe and stable housing has both a direct and indirect effect on health. Experiencing homelessness and housing instability can induce stress and trauma, worsening behavioral health and substance use. The absence of safe and stable living conditions can make it challenging to rest, recuperate, and recover from health ailments and can pose barriers to treatment adherence. Homelessness and housing instability is associated with high rates of numerous diseases and chronic conditions. Its cyclical relationship with other social drivers of health can exacerbate health disparities. As a result, unhoused persons experience unique health challenges and require a health care system and professionals designed to meet their distinct needs. Physicians and other health professionals have a role in educating themselves about the needs of unhoused patients as well as making themselves aware of community and government resources available to these populations. Policymakers must support health professionals in these efforts by supporting the data infrastructure needed to facilitate these referrals to resources, supporting research into best practices for caring for these populations, and investing in community-based organization capacity. Policy action is needed to address the underlying drivers of homelessness, including a dearth of affordable housing, while also addressing the short-term need for safe shelter now. In this position paper, the American College of Physicians (ACP) recognizes the need to address universal access to housing to fulfill one's right to health. ACP offers several recommendations to prevent homelessness and promote the necessary health care and social needs of unhoused populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed significant gaps in the United States' pandemic and public health emergency response system. In this position paper, the American College of Physicians (ACP) offers several policy recommendations for enhancing federal, state, and local preparedness for future pandemics and public health emergencies. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic revealed significant gaps in the United States' pandemic and public health emergency response system. At the federal level, government responses were undercut by a lack of centralized coordination, inadequately defined responsibilities, and an under-resourced national stockpile. Contradictory and unclear guidance throughout the early months of the pandemic, along with inconsistent funding to public health agencies, also created notable variance in state and local responses. The lack of a coordinated response added pressure to an already overwhelmed health care system, which was forced to resort to rationing care and personal protective equipment, creating moral distress and trauma for health care workers and their patients. Despite these severe shortcomings, the COVID-19 pandemic also highlighted successful policies and approaches, such as Operation Warp Speed, which led to the fastest development and distribution of a vaccine in history. In this position paper, the American College of Physicians (ACP) offers several policy recommendations for enhancing federal, state, and local preparedness for future pandemic and public health emergencies. This policy paper builds on various statements produced by ACP throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, including on the ethical distribution of vaccinations and resources, conditions to resume economic and social activity, and efforts to protect the health and well-being of medical professionals, among others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous peoples in the United States experience many health disparities and barriers to accessing health care services. In addition, Indigenous communities experience poor social drivers of health, including disproportionately high rates of food insecurity, violence, and poverty, among others. These challenges are unsurprising, given historical societal discrimination toward Indigenous peoples and government policies of violence, forced relocation with loss of ancestral home, and erasure of cultures and traditions. Indigenous peoples have displayed resilience that has sustained their communities through these hardships. Through treaties between the federal government and Indigenous nations, the federal government has assumed a trust responsibility to provide for the health and well-being of Indigenous populations through the direct provision of health care services and financial support of tribally operated health systems. However, despite serving a population that has endured substantial historical trauma and subsequent health issues, federal programs serving Indigenous peoples receive inadequate federal funding and substantially fewer resources compared with other federal health care programs. Access to care is further challenged by geographic isolation and health care workforce vacancies. Given the history of Indigenous peoples in the United States and their treatment by the federal government and society, the American College of Physicians (ACP) asserts the federal government must faithfully execute its trust responsibility through increased funding and resources directed toward Indigenous communities and the undertaking of concerted policy efforts to support the health and well-being of Indigenous people. ACP believes that these efforts must be community-driven, Indigenous-led, and culturally appropriate and accepted, and center values of respect and self-determination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization , some state governments have imposed stringent restrictions on abortion, whereas others have sought to protect access. In this policy brief, the American College of Physicians updates its previous positions to reflect this new reality and offers recommendations to promote equitable access to reproductive health care services and safeguard maternal health. The legal landscape around access to reproductive health care services was substantially altered after the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization. In the aftermath of the decision, some state governments have begun to impose stringent restrictions and complete bans on the provision of abortion, whereas others have sought to protect and expand access. Some have gone as far as imposing criminal and civil penalties on physicians and other clinicians who provide evidence-based, clinically indicated reproductive health care services and information that is guided by biomedical ethics and provided in the best interest of the patient's health and well-being. In several states, lawmakers have attempted and successfully used new approaches to enforcing and achieving these prohibitions, including prohibitions on crossing state lines to obtain abortion care, prohibitions on the mailing of medication abortion, and the authorization of third-party civil lawsuits. In this policy brief, the American College of Physicians (ACP) updates and expands on its previous public policy positions on abortion from its 2018 policy paper, "Women's Health Policy in the United States," to reflect this new reality. The College also offers policymakers and payers recommendations to promote equitable access to reproductive health care services and safeguard maternal health. ACP reaffirms its opposition to undue and unnecessary governmental interference in the patient–physician relationship that criminalizes the provision of health care made in the physician's clinical judgment and based on clinical evidence and the standard of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The American College of Physicians (ACP) has long advocated for universal access to high-quality health care in the United States. Yet, it is essential that the U.S. health system goes beyond ensuring coverage, efficient delivery systems, and affordability. Fundamental restructuring of payment policies and delivery systems is required to achieve a health care system that puts patients' interests first and supports physicians and their care teams to deliver high-value, patient-and family-centered care. The ACP calls for reform of U.S. payment, delivery, and information technology systems to achieve this vision. The ACP's recommendations include increased investment in primary care; alignment of financial incentives to achieve better patient outcomes, lower costs, reduce inequities in health care, and facilitate team-based care; freeing patients and physicians of in efficient administrative and billing tasks and documentation requirements; and development of health information technologies that enhance the patient–physician relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food insecurity functions as a social driver of health, directly negatively impacting health status and outcomes, which can further negatively impact employment and income and increase medical expenditures-all of which exacerbates food insecurity. Progress in meaningfully reducing the food-insecurity rate has stalled in recent years. Although rates have decreased since their peak during the Great Recession, these gains have been reversed by the economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the federal government is the largest provider of food assistance, there is much potential in better leveraging nutrition assistance programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Child Nutrition Programs to increase access to healthful foods and improve public health. However, these programs face many funding challenges and internal shortcomings that create uncertainties and prevent maximal effect. Physicians and other medical professionals also have a role in improving nutritional health by screening for food insecurity and serving as connectors between patients, community organizations, and government services. Governments and payers must support these efforts by providing sufficient resources to practices to fulfill this role. In this position paper, the American College of Physicians (ACP) offers several policy recommendations to strengthen the federal food-insecurity response and empower physicians and other medical professionals to better address those social drivers of health occurring beyond the office doors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]