President Barack Obama’s health care overhaul is currently the hottest issue, so expect the debates to heat up even further in the next couple of weeks.
By then, President Obama will be back at work committed to pushing his universal health care legislation and some members of the House of Representatives and Senate Republican leaders, who oppose it, will step up against it.
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are usually left out when it comes to the discussion of health care, but many Asian American leaders are calling on the community to change that.
"APIs and other immigrant communities must take action in order to be included in any reform proposal," said Scott Chan, community advocate for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center. "APALC calls on API communities to contact their members of Congress and ask them to include our communities in any health reform legislation."
There are about 2.2 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders who lack health care insurance coverage. Nearly 12 percent of AAPI children are deficient in health coverage, according to asianamericansforobama.com.
With no Asian American in the Senate and only a total of eight in the House of Representatives, leaders are concerned that the voice of Asian American communities is not being heard, especially when it comes to health care legislation.
"Given the Asian and Pacific Islander community’s ethnic and socio-economic diversity, understanding the unique needs of each community is essential to developing a health reform that will meet those needs," said California Assemblymember Mike Eng.
According to the APALC, cancer is the leading cause of death for Asian Americans. Southeast Asians and Pacific Islanders face high rates of chronic disease such as diabetes and heart disease.
In addition, much of our community continues to lack health coverage, with Korean Americans facing some of the largest numbers of uninsured.
Obama on AA Healthcare
Obama has already stated on his website that his new national health plan would help uninsured AAPI’s.
He said that his health plan would give Americans the choice to buy affordable health coverage similar to the plans available to federal employees. His plan would also feature guaranteed eligibility.
"No American will be turned away from any insurance plan because of illness or pre-existing conditions," he said.
Obama added that his health care reform legislation would reduce cost for AAPI’s, saving a typical family up to $2,500 every year on medical expenses.
Obama also acknowledged the disparities between AAPI’s and white Americans.
He cites an example that Asian women are less likely to be screened for cervical and breast cancer than white and African-American women.
Obama would like to change that by promoting prevention and increasing the cultural competence of health care workers.
( Published on September 2, 2009 in MDWK Magazine p. 2 )
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