FOLX Health

More than half of LGBTQ people aged 18-29 have experienced depression, 1.8 times the rate of non-LGBTQ individuals. On this National Depression Screening Day, consider getting some support, or giving some. Your mental health matters just as much as your physical health. Take a few minutes today to check in on yourself or encourage someone you love to do the same. We've created a depression quiz that you can take at 📝 https://lnkd.in/gSs3ukg9 💙.

🏳️⚧️ In honor of LGBTQ+ history month, meet the creator behind the transgender flag: Monica Helms. She is an author, USN veteran, wife, and model rocket enthusiast. “We have to let people know what our history is. We have to protect each other. Find other trans people, and make as many friends as possible.” - Monica Helms See her full interview in our Library: https://lnkd.in/gV7eQ-n9

Welcome to LGBTQIA+ History month! As we celebrate LGBTQIA+ History Month, we recognize the profound impact of the many people who have shaped our path towards equality, visibility, and healthcare access. Our work is an extension of the legacy of these courageous trailblazers, working both inside and outside of existing systems. Follow along all month to learn more about some of these folks and their stories. Here at FOLX, we’re proud to contribute to this ongoing narrative by driving innovation in LGBTQIA+ healthcare—providing affirming, accessible care for our community and supporting businesses in creating more inclusive workspaces. We believe in building a future where health and wellbeing are foundational for all LGBTQIA+ people. Dive into some of the rich history that informs our work and inspires the ongoing fight for equity in our guide: https://lnkd.in/gCz6uY7W

BREAKING: It was just announced that the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals stayed a federal district court decision blocking enforcement of SB 254 - the Florida law banning health care for transgender minors and restricting it for transgender adults. The ruling allows the state to enforce the law while the Court hears Florida’s appeal of the decision that SB 254 and the Boards of Medicine rules unlawfully targeted transgender people. This is devastating news for trans people all over Florida, at a time when many are experiencing intense stress about the upcoming election and what it may mean for the future of trans health. If you or a loved one is in Florida, what does this mean for your care? Here at FOLX, we can continue to care for you. You can make a telehealth appointment right now if you want to start care with us. Then you will need an in-person signed consent form and will have to use the form approved by the Board of Medicine (we have this ready). We have 5 locations across the state where you can have this appointment. If you're not with FOLX, know that this may cause disruptions in your care. This ruling means that, at least temporarily, your prescriptions will have to be written by a doctor (an MD or DO) and cannot be written by an NP or PA. We are here for you, and we will continue to work every day for increased access.

Increasing access to care is core to our mission, and we are thrilled to share this news from Aetna, a CVS Health Company. As an in-network provider serving Aetna members with LGBTQ+ specialized care, we can support even more couples and individuals on their paths to growing their families, with coverage. As Kate Steinle, our Chief Clinical Officer, shared in the release: “We know firsthand the barriers people face in accessing needed medical care to start or grow their families. As an in-network provider focused on the LGBTQ+ community, we applaud Aetna’s efforts to reduce out-of- pocket costs, so that more people can have the families they dream of – and deserve." Thank you, Aetna, and all the many individuals who made this milestone happen.

Our community is distressed. The results of a summer 2024 FOLX Health survey found that 9 in 10 respondents said that they believe the presidential election will have a "major impact" on healthcare for LGBTQ+ people, with 65 percent saying it will have a "major impact" in their state. Because of this, over two-thirds are either stockpiling their medications, or delaying or expediting their treatment. This is not acceptable, and at FOLX we’re doing everything we can to fill in the gap. Thank you to Lex McMenamin at Teen Vogue, Brooke Migdon at The Hill, Griffin Eckstein at Salon Media Group, Inc., The Advocate, and so many others for spreading the word. We’re doing everything we can. Teen Vogue - https://lnkd.in/eWf9tYYY The Hill - https://lnkd.in/e4SuiTjy The Advocate - https://lnkd.in/e8_StEDF Salon - https://lnkd.in/eJyHUnNt

The upcoming election is stirring deep concerns within the LGBTQ+ community. With 527 anti-LGBTQ+ bills introduced this legislative session alone, the stakes are higher than ever, particularly for transgender folks. The choices made in November will profoundly impact our rights, from healthcare to family definitions. As the largest providers of LGBTQ+ healthcare in the country, we witness the direct effects of this political climate on our community’s wellbeing every day. To capture these sentiments, we surveyed over 1,500 LGBTQ+ individuals across the US. Our latest report reveals a community both deeply affected and highly engaged. Read the full report to understand the critical perspectives of the transgender community this election season. 🔗 Read the Full Report Here: https://lnkd.in/eQY9TPXc

We're thrilled our head of research Jae Corman, PhD will be presenting at the GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality conference on LGBTQ+ Health this September! At FOLX, we specialize in compassionate, comprehensive care tailored to the LGBTQIA+ community. Our mission is to set the gold standard for exceptional healthcare, proving that truly inclusive, non-discriminatory care is the future. We're not just elevating LGBTQIA+ health; we're redefining what great healthcare can look like for everyone. Meet us at GLMA and learn more about how we do it! #GLMA2024

With the plethora of benefits offerings available, employers are increasingly faced with a complicated array of choices to navigate. Yet employees, especially those from historically underserved communities, continue to have many unmet healthcare needs, and employers bear the burden of high costs. Christina Farr dives into point solution fatigue, the costs of care, the ROI of benefits, and how the future of employee care might look. (Hint: it could be in caring for communities, like we do at FOLX!) From the article: There’s also an interesting trend that I discussed this past month with Liana M. Douillet Guzmán (she/her) from FOLX Health... In her view, the next iteration of Point Solutions is to focus less on the condition and more on the community that a member associates with. Guzman said that Folx can treat its members across fertility and family planning, behavioral health, primary care as well as other forms of treatment, and it has an easier time with both utilization and engagement because its members are so loyal. “By going narrow for who we care for,” she said, “we go wide in terms of what we can offer them.” Read the whole piece at: https://lnkd.in/eJRD4Ees

Point solutions are dead. Long live community solutions. Allow me to explain. We all like to talk about how it’s the end of the road for digital health point solutions, given how saturated employers already are. There are simply too many companies selling into the same channels, and there’s a lack of “connective tissue” meaning that these vendors don’t connect to the health care system or even each other. There’s also a lot of overlap. No employer needs 6 point solutions all focused on diabetes. But that doesn’t mean that the greater efficiency and improved patient outcomes that point solutions promised have to go. In fact, I’m more bullish than ever that we’ll see exactly that promise delivered via community solutions. Rather than focusing on a specific condition, community-based approaches involve a specific population or subgroup that spans medical, social and emotional needs. That is what we do at FOLX: We build for the LGBTQIA+ community, and we provide holistic care. These community solutions are not niches - we might be talking about anywhere from 5 percent to 50 percent of an employers’ population. In our case, our best estimate is 7.6%. Why am I such a fan? We see tangible benefits with these community solutions in the form of true ROI for our employers, and we see a path to solving one of the most critical challenges facing digital health today. To use us as a case study - 99% of our FOLX members have told us they’re satisfied with their progress towards their goals in 6 months. And on average, our members gain 2 healthy days per month within 3 months of starting care with us. Community solutions benefit from word of mouth – once members find us, they have a tendency to share the news with others. 31% of our members hear about us that way. Are you a fellow community-based solution? If so, in the spirit of connectivity, reach out - we’d love to find ways to work together.