<home> -- <press releases> -- <October 22, 2003>

Members of Congress Announce Legislation to Improve
Health Care for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders
CAPAC Members Co-Sponsor Important Legislation
to Reduce Minority Health Care Disparities

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 22, 2003 – Washington, D.C. – Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC) joined the House and Senate Democratic Leadership in announcing legislation today to improve health care for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and other minority groups. The Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act of 2003 aims to reduce the proven disparities in health care and access to medical service between minority communities and other Americans.

CAPAC members David Wu (D-OR), Mike Honda (D-CA), and Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU), joined Members of the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the Congressional Native American Caucus, and the Democratic Leadership in announcing the legislation today.

"Language barriers within the APA community make it difficult for people to interact with health care providers and social service agencies effectively," said Congressman Mike Honda (D-CA), Vice Chairman of CAPAC. "The bill we are announcing today will address this and other health care obstacles for limited English proficient Asian Pacific Americans."

"For too long, disparities in health care between Asian Pacific Americans and other Americans have been diagnosed, but gone untreated," said CAPAC Chairman David Wu (D-OR). "All Americans deserve the same quality of health care and access to medical services, and this legislation will take an important step toward that goal."

"Americans residing in the Pacific Island territories face additional barriers in accessing health care. As a result of the caps in Medicaid and social welfare program allocations, territorial governments are restrained in their ability to access resources to provide adequate health care and social services," said Congresswoman Bordallo (D-GU). "This bill removes the Medicaid cap and provides funding to improve public health facilities and services in the Pacific Island territories so that all Americans receive high-quality health care."

Persistent disparities in health care between Asian American and other populations are well documented. For instance, according to a June 2003 study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, Asian Pacific Americans are less likely than white Americans to have medical insurance, to lack a usual source of health care, or to have visited a health care professional in the last year. Also, limited data on Pacific Islander health disparities make it challenging to address what evidence suggests are growing needs within their communities.

The Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act of 2003 seeks to reduce these disparities and improve the quality of health care for minority communities by:

Removing language and cultural barriers.  Approximately one-third of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders live in linguistic isolation. Because language and cultural differences create barriers to health care, the bill would help Asian American and Pacific Islander patients, including those with limited English proficiency, with provisions such as codifying existing standards for culturally and linguistically appropriate health care, assisting health care professionals provide cultural and language services, and increasing federal reimbursement for these services.

Improving data collection.  Asian Pacific Americans are an ethnically and linguistically diverse community with widely varying health needs. Better information is needed to identify the sources of health disparities, implement effective solutions, and monitor improvement. With appropriate safeguards to protect privacy, the bill would require federal agencies and recipients of federal funds to collect and report data on race, ethnicity, and primary language.

Strengthening health institutions that serve minority populations.  Many areas with high concentrations of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders lack adequate health care services and health care facilities. The bill would establish loan and grant programs as well as quality improvement initiatives for health institutions that provide substantial care to minority populations.

Expanding health coverage.  To reduce the number of minorities without health insurance, the bill would give states the option to expand eligibility and streamline enrollment in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. This will expand health insurance coverage for Asian American and Pacific Islander immigrant populations.

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Contact: Neil Weare in Washington, D.C., at (202) 225-1188 or Joaquin Perez in Guam at (671) 477-4272.