From the Huffington Post:

For the first time, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender populations will be included in the National Health Interview Survey — one of the key sources used to gauge the health of Americans. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday morning that it will add questions on sexual orientation to the survey by 2013 and begin efforts to collect data on gender identity.

In a statement, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius hailed the move as essential to helping policymakers and researchers identify health issues among LGBT populations, for which there is notoriously little data.

Read the full article on the Huffington Post.