Gonzales

Gilbert Gonzales

Assistant Professor of Health Policy, Vanderbilt University
Areas of Expertise:

About Gilbert

Gonzales studies state policies and initiatives to improve health and access to health care for vulnerable families and children. In his recent work; he evaluates the impact of same-sex marriage on health insurance coverage for lesbian; gay; bisexual and transgender (LGBT) families. Gonzales is a research assistant at the State Health Access Data Assistance Center (SHADAC) at the University of Minnesota where he assists state health policy research and reports state-level measures of population health and health care.

In the News

Guest on KBIA Mid-Missouri Public Radio, July 23, 2015.
Quoted by Carey Goldberg in "More Health Coverage, and Perhaps More Health, for Same-Sex Couples," WBUR National Public Radio, June 29, 2015.
Research discussed by Russell Saunders, in "New Report Says Same-Sex Marriage is Good for Public Health," Daily Beast, April 15, 2014.
Opinion: "Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage is Just What the Doctor Ordered," Gilbert Gonzales, Talking Points Memo, December 23, 2013.
Research discussed by Kathryn Doyle, in "Kids of Gay and Lesbian Parents Lag on Insurance," Reuters, September 27, 2013.
Research discussed by Kathryn G. Nelson, in "U of M Researchers Find Children of Same-Sex Couples Less Likely to Have Health Insurance," MinnPost, September 23, 2013.
Research discussed by Amy Norton, in "Same-Sex Couples’ Kids Less Likely to Have Private Health Insurance," U.S. News and World Report, September 16, 2013.

Publications

"Disparities in Health and Disability Among Older Adults in Same-Sex Cohabiting Relationships" (with Carrie Henning-Smith). Journal of Aging and Health (forthcoming).
Examines disparities in health and disability among older partnered adults by relationship type. Older men and women in same-sex relationships are more likely to report impaired physical and mental health compared to their peers in opposite-sex relationships.
"Issues and Trends in Health Insurance Coverage for Same-Sex Couples" (with Ryan Moltz and Miriam King), in Health Care Disparities and the LGBT Population, edited by Teresa Housel and Vickie Harvey (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014).
Investigates disparities in health insurance coverage for same-sex couples between 1997 and 2012, and finds that uninsurance among same-sex couples was partially offset by an increase in dependent coverage. Disparities appear to diminish for adults in same-sex relationships that report being married in the most recent period.
"National and State-Specific Health Insurance Disparities for Adults in Same-Sex Relationships" (with Lynn Blewett). American Journal of Public Health 104, no. 2 (2014): e95-e104.
Provides evidence that same-sex couples fare worse in terms of employer-sponsored health insurance in nearly every state, but differences in coverage are reduced when couples reside in states that allow legal same-sex marriage, civil unions or comprehensive domestic partnerships.
"Disparities in Health Insurance among Children with Same-Sex Parents" (with Lynn Blewett). Pediatrics 132, no. 4 (2013): 703-711.
Documents how disparities in private health insurance for children with same-sex parents diminish when they live in states that secure their legal relationship to both parents. This study provides supporting evidence in favor of recent policy statements by the American Academy of Pediatricians endorsing same-sex marriage and second-parent adoptions.
"Rescued by the Safety Net: How Government-Sponsored Programs Eased the Pain during the Recession" (with Lynn Blewett and Heather Dahlen). Minnesota Medicine 95, no. 2 (2012): 42-44.
Explores how government-sponsored programs provided a safety net that enabled many people with low incomes to retain health insurance and lessened the Great Recession’s impact in Minnesota.