When illness strikes or a child is born or adopted, workers should not have to worry about losing a job or critical income. The LGBT community must join the call for paid leave laws and ensure that all workers have the support and time to recover from illness and care for their loved ones.

Helping our community improve its health is our new opportunity for LGBT equality, and the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. "Obamacare") provides a great foundation upon which to build that equality.

Despite progress being made on multiple issues involving the LGBT+ community, it continues to surprise me that in something as straightforward (no pun intended) as a survey, we still have a long way to go. And that is no clearer to me than at the doctor's office.

Asking about sexual orientation and gender identity in clinical settings is critical. If we want to better understand LGBT health disparities and reduce them, we must know who LGBT patients are and how to best meet their health needs.

Note: This holiday season, in lieu of a traditional holiday gift guide, we'll be featuring a different LGBT organization each day for our "30 Days Of ...

I have seen firsthand the power of collaborating with racial and ethnic civil rights leaders, but even I was surprised by how a small conversation with the head of the NAACP mushroomed into a milestone for LGBT health.

The voices of LGBT Americans, who have long faced barriers in accessing adequate, affordable, competent health care, are crucial in this debate. The health disparities facing LGBT Americans are daunting, and unequal access to health care is a roadblock to full equality.

A big development seems to have flown under the health care radar. For the first time ever, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people have been identified as a priority population affected by health disparities.

We have compiled a directory of over 400 LGBT-friendly, free or low-cost cancer screening facilities across the country. They have just been uploaded to our website. Our database covers colonoscopies, prostate cancer screening, anal pap smears, cervical paps, and mammograms.

A year ago Dr. Judith Bradford spread the news on The Huffington Post that the government had created the most comprehensive tome ever on the often-overlooked subject of LGBT health. But a year later, not one of the IOM report recommendations has been implemented.

I often interact with mainstream cancer groups, and when I do, I bring up the underserved and invisible LGBT community. "Oh, don't worry," they always say in that reassuring voice. "Our organization and our services are meant for everyone." Really?