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Action Alert: Tell Speaker Pelosi to Support Immigrants in Health Reform

By October 16, 2009No Comments

DREAMING OF HEALTH CARE

“I dream of the day when anyone can confidently seek medical care.”
-Shared by Grandma Yi, a limited English proficient Korean American senior and Korean Resource Center leader in Los Angeles, CA

Communities across the country are changing how health insurance works for everyone so that our families, businesses, and friends can take charge and make informed decisions about their health. For those whose first language is not English, who can’t afford to regularly visit a health care professional, or whose immigration status is the only reason blocking them from participating in any type of health care program, what are we doing to make health care work for them?

A critical action that the House of Representatives can take is to ask the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to “score” the lifting of the five-year bar. While there is already a wealth of data that documents how immigrants financially contribute to sustain the U.S. health care system, the CBO score would educate policymakers about how much our country is failing to serve the same people who are a vital economic engine for this country.

Call Speaker Pelosi’s office today at 866-967-6018 and tell her, “Please support access to healthcare for all people living and working in the United States. One thing she can do is to tell the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to score the lift of the federal five year bar against legal immigrants in Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP.”

For those of us who are staunchly committed to immigrant healthcare, please take an extra step to call Rep. Mike Honda’s office at 202-225-2631 to thank him for his leadership on lifting the five-year bar.

We can change the course of the public debate so that all people, including immigrants, can lead healthier and more prosperous lives. Call today and then forward this email to 5 of your friends.

For policy updates regarding the healthcare bills that are currently being debated in Congress, read NAKASEC’s October E-Newsletter.

Also, to hear voices of community members calling for health reform, read “The Choice Before Us,” a compilation of letters addressed to President Obama written by Joanne, a 6th grader in Los Angeles, CA, Bruce Alexander & Lisa Polak in Gaithersburg, MD, and others that touches on the fears and frustrations stemming from the high costs of private health insurance, the lack of cultural competence and language access in health care settings, and the bureaucracy, to name a few challenges.

For further questions, please contact Hemi Kim, hkim@nakasec.org, 202.339.9318.

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