WASHINGTON – Juliet K. Choi, president and CEO of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) issued the following statement in response to President Biden’s Build Back Better framework, which maintainsnumerous wide-reaching initiatives which will improve the lives of Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA NH/PI) communities by lowering the cost of healthcare, childcare and education, as well as creating jobs, cutting taxes and reinvesting in the nation’s immigration system.
“The Build Back Better framework represents a significant step forward in improving the health and livelihood of AANH/PI communities. Specifically, APIAHF applauds the BBB framework’s expansion of affordable health care coverage which would allow more than 150,000 AA NH/PI people to gain coverage. It would further expand dental, vision and hearing coverage for the more than 2.3 million AA NH/PIs who are currently on Medicare.
“As Congress finalizes the reconciliation bill, we must ensure that provisions are extended to protect those essential to the American fabric: immigrant and migrant families. APIAHF urges Congress to make use of the $100 billion earmarked for immigration by including provisions for immigration reform in the bill, including amending the registry provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act which serves as a pathway for lawful permanent residence for certain categories of individuals, visa recapture for family-based immigrants, and enhancements to green card processing. Such reforms would ultimately allow more AA NH/PI immigrants, many of whom contribute to our economy as low-wage and essential workers, access to healthcare and other benefits that they are already paying into.”
APIAHF is committed to working with the White House and Congress to pass this historic bill that will expand access to affordable healthcare and improve the social infrastructure for AA NH/PI communities.
# # #
The Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF) influences policy, mobilizes communities and strengthens programs and organizations to improve the health of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.