Non-discriminatory care

Folx is a digital healthcare platform created specifically for queer and transgender patients. Founded in December 2020, the platform aims to fill a large hole in healthcare. “This is a community that’s really underserved,” Folx founder and CEO A. G. Breitenstein told Well + Good. “There’s so much about health care that’s very specific to [LGBTQIA+ patients],” that isn’t reflected in existing healthcare offerings, including hormone replacement therapy and testing for sexually transmitted infections. “The instructions for traditional [STI] tests are completely gendered and don’t address the queer population in an inclusive way,” Breitenstein explained. In contrast, “the language the Folx kits use is completely different and really tracks with the community we are serving.”

Folx services include virtual appointments with queer and trans clinicians, at-home STI testing and treatment and gender-affirming hormone therapies, with hopes to open a bricks-and-mortar clinic in the future.

Plume is another company working to make healthcare more inclusive. The $99-per-month on-demand service includes medical evaluations, ongoing monitoring and lab assignments and prescriptions, and will soon provide medication delivery, as well. In February, the company received $14M in funding to scale their services nationally to match growing demand since its December 2019 launch.

Mate Fertility is working to make fertility treatments more accessible for queer and gender non-conforming individuals. Launched in February 2021, the company aims to improve availability and affordability of fertility treatments across the United States, with a focus on the LGBTQIA+ community. “The queer community has been locked out of these services,” Mate cofounder Gabriel Bogner said of fertility treatments like IVF and surrogacy, which are two of the only options available for queer partners to become pregnant. “It became my mission to democratize healthcare for my community.”

Mainstream healthcare brands are also starting to course correct. In January, health insurance provider Aetna announced that it would expand coverage to include gender-affirming surgeries, which were previously considered cosmetic rather than medically necessary, and therefore not covered by insurance. And period brands like Always, Callaly and Superdrug are changing their language, marketing and products to better represent a variety of experiences.