Everyone should have access to resources and benefits that enable them to live healthy lives. Since the enactment of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the percentage of Asian Americans without health insurance has dropped from 17.2% in 2009 to 10.2% in 2014, and the percentage of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders without health insurance has similarly decreased, from 17.3% to 11%. However, there are still more than two million uninsured AANHPIs—especially Asian Americans who are undocumented immigrants. AANHPIs also face health disparities and unequal access to quality health care services, in particular among those who are limited English proficient, new residents, or low-income.
AANHPIs are the least likely to seek mental health care, and failure to adequately address mental health concerns can greatly compromise the quality of care a person receives, resulting in poorer health outcomes and increased costs. Mental health also plays a critical role in the community’s overall health.
For AANHPI women and LGBTQ individuals, increasing access to reproductive and preventive health care services are integral to overall health and well-being, as well as addressing disparities related to gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
Healthy lives also work to address negative social determinants of health, including hate, racism, and violence, such as domestic violence and gun violence.
Fully fund and implement the ACA; protect the coverage expansions, financial assistance and consumer protection provisions; and support full Medicaid expansion in all states consistent with Medicaid’s protections./p>
Enforce the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule implementing Section 1557 of the ACA, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin (including English proficiency), sex (including gender identity), age, or disability. In addition, continue to clarify through federal guidance that discrimination based on sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination, consistent with interpretations by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).• Enforce the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule implementing Section 1557 of the ACA, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin (including English proficiency), sex (including gender identity), age, or disability. In addition, continue to clarify through federal guidance that discrimination based on sexual orientation is a form of sex discrimination, consistent with interpretations by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Allow undocumented immigrants, including those who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), access to the ACA’s health insurance Marketplaces and consider those who have been granted DACA as lawfully present for eligibility for the ACA’s tax credits and subsidies, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
Remove the five-year restriction on eligibility for public health programs, such as Medicaid and CHIP, for all lawful permanent residents.
Restore Medicaid eligibility for Compact of Free Association (COFA) migrants from the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau.
Increase coverage for integrated care services in behavioral health settings through the ACA, with a particular focus on ethnic specific agencies serving AANHPIs and other communities of color.
Increase the number of culturally and linguistically appropriate grants under the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)-Health Resources & Service Administration (HRSA) Center for Integrated Health Solutions /p>
Expand the Mental Health Demonstration Grants of the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, to allow SAMHSA to administer the initiative beyond a pilot phase.
Support federally qualified health centers and expand access to preventive services, support, and treatment of hepatitis B, tuberculosis, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and cancer.
Reduce health disparities by supporting the Health Equity and Accountability Act and the Office of Minority Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Provide a well-trained, culturally and linguistically appropriate workforce that includes training and support for bilingual paraprofessionals and trained interpreters.
Support federally qualified health centers and expand access to preventive services, support, and treatment of hepatitis B, tuberculosis, diabetes, HIV/AIDS, and cancer.
Expand access to reproductive health care—including family planning, contraception, emergency contraception, and abortion—by fully funding the Title X Family Planning Program; repealing the Hyde amendment; and allowing Medicaid funding for abortion.
Oppose sex- and race-selective abortion bans, as these are based solely on stereotypes about AANHPI women and serve to diminish access to legal reproductive health care, particularly for low-income AANHPI women.
Protect survivors and those most vulnerable to violence and abuse through culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach, awareness, and services, as 21-55% of Asian American women report experiencing intimate physical and/or sexual violence during their lifetime.
77% of Asian American registered voters support stricter gun laws and 74% said gun control was an “extremely important” or “very important” issue—among the top issues of concern. Guns threaten a community’s safety and impact one’s mental and environmental health.
Ban assault weapons.
Close loopholes that allow people to buy guns from unlicensed sellers at gun shows or over the internet without passing the background checks that are otherwise required.
Allow federal research on gun control.