For Immediate Release
June 9, 2009
WASHINGTON - The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) and the National Council of Asian Pacific Islander Physicians (NCAPIP) today attended the White House Health Care Reform Roundtable with U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, President Obama's health policy advisors and health care providers and community leaders.
Like most Americans, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AAs and NHPIs) are struggling to keep up with out of control medical costs. Nationally, almost one in five are uninsured and even more are underinsured. AAs and NHPIs have higher rates than other ethnic groups of certain preventable diseases. For example, liver cancer rates for Vietnamese men are 13 times higher than among Caucasian males, and overall cancer deaths are increasing at a faster rate in our communities than in any other ethnic or racial group."We have a historic opportunity to make sure that everyone in the United States has guaranteed access to affordable health care. Health reform must ensure that all families and all individuals have access to affordable coverage," said Deeana Jang, policy director for APIAHF. "And when we say affordable, we mean that no one should have to make a choice between paying the mortgage and visiting the doctor. For our communities, it's very important to make sure that employers can afford to pay for health insurance, because almost 6 in 10 Asian Americans receive health care through their employers."
NCAPIP and APIAHF called for full federal reimbursement for qualified health care interpreters and translators who provide services under Medicaid, SCHIP, and Medicare and urged that health care reform includes provisions to improve the level of understanding between patients and health care providers.
"The push to provide affordable quality care is coming from the ground up, across the entire health care system. Everyone agrees that we must modernize our system," said Dr. Dexter Louie, Chairperson of NCAPIP. "As we provide coverage for all Americans, we have to realize that if people can't understand their doctors and we cannot understand our patients, quality care simply cannot happen. We insure that doctors are able to provide translation and interpretation services to their patients, and we need to take steps to increase the diversity of our health care workforce."
APIAHF is a national health policy organization dedicated to promoting policy, program, and research efforts to improve the health and well-being of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.
The National Council of Asian Pacific Islander Physicians (NCAPIP) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of the health status of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander communities. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California. Its board of directors is chaired by Dr. Dexter Louie, a practicing physician in San Francisco's Chinatown.
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