PRESS RELEASE
AAPCHO Applauds Preservation of Health Equity Building Blocks, Affordable Care Act and Medicaid
July 28, 2017
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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Beverly Quintana
Director of Development and Public Affairs
(510) 272-9536
bquintana[at]aapcho[dot]org
WASHINGTON – The Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) today released the following statement in response to the Senate vote to defeat repeal of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). In a narrow 49-51 vote, the Senate rejected to pass legislation to make significant changes to the ACA exchanges and Medicaid expansion. Proposed cuts would have impeded access to care for millions of people, including Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (AA&NHPIs) and others disparately impacted by health disparities and health access limitations served at health centers.
“The defeat of this bill is a testament to the collective voice and power of communities across the country committed to ensuring that all have access to the affordable health care they deserve,” said Jeffrey Caballero, executive director of AAPCHO. “We applaud your hard work and thank you for raising your voices, sharing your stories and taking action to protect the care for the most vulnerable in our communities. We stand ready to move on and continue our progress towards health equity.”
As a nonpartisan, national not-for-profit organization that represents health centers serving nearly 500,000 AA&NHPIs and other communities, AAPCHO sees access to effective and preventive primary care as a key building block to health equity. Medicaid is essential for health centers, providing the largest source of revenue. With its members, AAPCHO believes that maintaining this base funding allows health centers to serve as models of care coordination, providing effective and efficient care that addresses patient needs and reduces emergency room use and cost to the health care system as a whole. AA&NHPIs are the fastest growing racial and ethnic group in the United States, and Medicaid funding allows health centers to serve these and other vulnerable communities, with culturally and linguistically appropriate care, in an affordable and accessible manner.
AAPCHO commends the hard work of its members and other community health advocates that made this victory happen. AAPCHO, with our members and partners, will remain vigilant to advocate for a stable health insurance marketplace, funding for primary care, and progress towards health equity. We look forward to continuing to raise our health care voices to work towards a system of care that is coordinated, affordable and effective for all.
About AAPCHO
AAPCHO is a national association of community health organizations dedicated to promoting advocacy, collaboration and leadership that improves the health status and access of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. For more information on AAPCHO, please visit www.aapcho.org.