Lakhasly

Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same. Fairness means everyone gets what they need,” wrote author Rick Riordan. When it comes to allocating scarce medical resources justly, healthcare leaders have a choice: Treat all patients the same (equally), or treat patients according to their unique needs (equitably).

Aiming at health equality may be a good short-term strategy for improving outcomes for patients currently facing medical discrimination, including transgender people. Yet aiming at health equity — focusing directly on the roots of social injustice and giving additional resources to at-risk patients — may be a better long-term strategy to create policies that reduce health disparities for vulnerable groups.

By noting the difference between the two, health equity vs. health equality, providers and policymakers are better able to determine where to allocate scarce medical resources and how to support populations that may not have the healthcare resources they deserve.

What Is Health Equality?
In healthcare, equality means treating all patients the same way. For example, a hospice nurse may spend equal amounts of time with every patient, or a dermatologist may offer the same information about sun exposure and skin cancer risks to each of theirs.

When health disparities arise due to unequal treatment — such as when certain patients face discrimination — health equality can help to bridge the gap.

For example, transgender people frequently experience discrimination in healthcare. According to a June 2020 Center for American Progress Report, 68% of transgender people of color experienced mistreatment by a medical professional. When transgender patients sought treatment, medical professionals reportedly:

Refused to see transgender patients
Performed physically rough or abusive treatment
Intentionally misgendered the patient
Deliberately used the person’s birth name (known as “deadnaming”) when referring to the patient
Refused to provide healthcare related to gender transition
Used harsh or abusive language during treatment
While these forms of discriminatory treatment are both morally wrong and illegal, they still happen.

The lack of safety and support in some medical settings causes undue stress for transgender people seeking healthcare, as shown by the report’s results:

Transgender people who said their providers displayed visible discomfort due to their actual or perceived gender identity: 32%
Transgender people who had to teach their provider about transgender healthcare to receive proper treatment: 33%
Transgender people who experienced insurers denying them coverage for gender-affirming care: 50%
Equality could go a long way toward making healthcare safer for transgender people. By treating cisgender and transgender people equally, medical professionals can drastically reduce transgender discrimination in healthcare settings.