The first release of transgender data from the California Health Interview Survey, the nation’s largest state survey, reveals the demographic characteristics of transgender adults in the state — such as population size, racial makeup and marital status — as well as sobering disparities in their health status. For example, one in five transgender adults in California has attempted suicide — a rate six times that of the state’s adult cisgender population. The health data used in a new policy brief by The Williams Institute and the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research are among hundreds of new California Health Interview Survey estimates released today. Included are updated statistics on health insurance that show the number of uninsured Californians at record lows in 2016, primarily as a result of Medi-Cal expansion under the Affordable Care Act.
