Impact of Governor's Health Cuts on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
On November 24, 2003, Governor Schwarzenegger announced $1.9 billion in budget reductions for fiscal year 2003-2004. Many of these cuts will be to the Medi-Cal and Healthy Families programs that provide vital health care services to low-income individuals and will disproportionately impact Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) families in California.
FACT: AAPIs HAVE HIGHER RATES OF POVERTY.
- According to the 2000 Census, in California, Asians have a 64% higher rate of living in poverty than non-Latino whites 1.
- Pacific Islanders have over a 100% higher rate of living in poverty than non-Latino white Californians 1.
FACT: AAPIs ARE MUCH MORE LIKELY TO BE UNINSURED.
- 23% of AAPIs in California were uninsured, a rate that is 77% higher compared to of non-Latino whites (13%) 2 .
- Some AAPI groups have particularly high rates of uninsurance; for example 45% of Koreans, and 29% of Vietnamese in California have no insurance 2 .
FACT: LANGUAGE BARRIERS POSE ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS FOR AAPIs
- There are almost 1.5 million AAPIs in California that do not speak English very well. 1
- Of the 5.2 million Medi-Cal beneficiaries, 43% speak a primary language other than English 3, and about half of all children in the Healthy Families program speak a primary language other than English 4.
FACT: AAPIs ARE UNDER-ENROLLED IN PUBLIC HEALTH CARE PROGRAMS.
- In spite of these very high rates of poverty and low rates of insurance coverage, only 7% of AAPIs were enrolled in Medi-Cal and Healthy Families 2 .
1 U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000. Query: American Factfinder.
2 UCLA Center for Health Policy and Research, The State of Health Insurance in California: Recent Trends, Future Prospects. March 2001.
3 Medi-Cal Policy Institute. Medi-Cal County Data Book, January 2002.
4 California Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board, Healthy Families Program Monthly Enrollment Reports. November 2002 through October 2003.
For more information, contact the APIAHF Policy Division staff:
Gem Daus, Legislative and Government Affairs Coordinator, GDaus@apiahf.org
