Spotlight: Interview with Derrick Reyes, CEO and Co-Founder of Queerly Health

For Father’s Day/Partner’s Day we connected with Derrick Reyes, the CEO and Co-Founder of Queerly Health, to find out about his journey to launching a digital health platform and the barriers to health access for the LGBTQ+ population.  

1) What made you decide to launch Queerly Health? Did you have a pain point in your own life that made you wish a platform like Queerly Health existed?

Five years ago, I wrapped up a master's degree in Human Development & Social Intervention at NYU and an Advanced Certification in LGBTQ+ Health, Education, and Social Services. Even with my background and being based in New York City, a leader in LGBTQ+ healthcare, I had difficulty finding a new primary care provider who was LGBTQ+ affirming. This is an experience that's far too common for LGBTQ+ people and it's part of the reason why we, as a community, experience so many health disparities as compared to the general population. I also saw the way digital health was booming and I knew there had to be a better way forward for us.  

2) Can you walk us through the barriers to health access and gaps in health access that are specific to the LGBTQ+ population?

Cost, like many Americans, is a barrier to access for us since LGBTQ+ people are 3x as likely to be uninsured. Over 60% of LGBTQ+ people can also legally be dropped from their health insurance plans on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

LGBTQ+ affirming practitioners tend to be easier found in major metropolitan areas, and even in those cities people may have difficulty. In this way, major gaps in access exist depending on location in rural and suburban areas. 

Over 56% of LGBTQ+ people report experiencing discimination in healthcare settings. That ranges from being denied care all the way to physical assault.

Much like women's health and reproductive health, LGBTQ+ health is often under attack by anti-LGBTQ+ health legislation at the state and federal level. Even now, during a pandemic, the current administration is trying to roll back Obama-era health protections for trans people.

Most practitioners aren't trained on LGBTQ+ health and wellness. Something the medical community, especially, has been very vocal about addressing.

3) What do you wish you knew before launching? 

I wish I had a better self-care practice prior to launching or even starting to build this company. We live in a society that's based on this puritan work ethic where people aren't really sure they're productive unless they're working themselves to the bone. It's a trap. The truth is, we all need time and space to take care of ourselves so we can show up in all areas of our lives as our full selves. Our relationship with ourselves and the practices we have for ourselves, also end up translating over into how we run our businesses, or classrooms, or homes, etc. Do yourself and everyone you know a favor and carve out the time and space to take care of yourself.

4) What's been the biggest surprise in your startup journey?

How incredibly receptive non-LGBTQ+ people have been to Queerly Health and our mission to eliminate LGBTQ+ health disparities by 2030. When I first started out, I wasn't always sure if certain spaces were for me and people like me. I've decided occupying spaces, as I am, with all my identities is enough for me and people like me to belong in them.

5) It's Father's Day, which we're also rebranding as "Father's Day/Parent's Day" for all the gender non-binary parents out there. What do you wish more people understood about LGBTQ+ parents? 

Studies have shown that the children of same-sex couples are just as well adjusted, if not better adjusted in some areas, as their peers with heterosexual parents. The only drawback being that many children experience discrimination from homophobic/queerphobic people within their communities. Research also shows that the gender and gender conformity of parents is irrelevant to child development and happiness.  

6) Is there anything else you'd like us to know that we didn't ask about? 

 You can follow me on IG and Twitter @QueerlyDerrick and Queerly Health on IG, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn @QueerlyHealth.