The key issue of the policies regarding vulnerable populations is probably that they lack the integrity. While Medicaid was designed to ensure medical services for older adults, it works only in short-term periods. While anti-discrimination laws are expected to protect people of color and the LGBT community, they also fail to provide them with equal opportunities for healthcare and employment.
In this connection, Ashley (2018) states that violence and harassment against transgender people can be called a pandemic. The author also adds that the current hate crime laws are ineffective as they cannot eliminate inequality. Instead, it is suggested to take an anti-neo-liberal legal reform approach and focus on radical activism. This requires considering trans realities and all spheres of society while designing and implementing new policies. However, it remains unclear whether such a radical approach would benefit all US citizens or not.
As properly noted in your post, older adults, LGBT people, and people of color have a fundamental right to be treated equally regardless of their age, sexual orientation, and skin color. COVID-19 made the existing disparity even more evident. For example, the rate of death among African-Americans increased by six times due to various complications (Yancy, 2020). It is important to think differently to restructure the economic and social areas of the US society.
Since the needs of this population are greater compared to the white communities, there is a need to ensure equitable allocation of healthcare resources to support them. One should call for prioritizing the targeted assessment of race-related health and social disparities to produce new policies. The expected results are a decrease in morbidity and mortality, improved housing and employment opportunities, as well as the elimination of discrimination.
References
Ashley, F. (2018). Don’t be so hateful: The insufficiency of anti-discrimination and hate crime laws in improving trans well-being. University of Toronto Law Journal, 68(1), 1-36.
Yancy, C. W. (2020). COVID-19 and African Americans. JAMA, 323(19), 1891-1892.