It wasn't too long ago that including "LGBT" in a health research funding proposal could get it thrown out, said LGBT health researcher Kellan Baker.

"LGBT health has traditionally been treated as disposable," said Baker, a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

But a recent announcement from an institute within the National Institutes of Health shows a shift in that attitude, and lends federal recognition to the health challenges faced by those who identify as lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, or otherwise outside of traditional gender norms.

The National Institute of Minority Health Disparities (NIMHD) this month classified sexual and gender minorities as a health disparity population — that is, a group whose health is significantly worse than the general population in terms of disease and mortality. Baker, who regularly meets with the NIH on issues of LGBT health policy, said that the Center for American Progress has been pushing for this classification for almost a decade.

Read more at STAT News