For Immediate Release
January 14, 2009
Contacts: Hemi Kim, NAKASEC, 202.253.4566
JuYeon Ryu, KRC, 714.728.0698, 714.484.6552
Sohn Sik, KRCC, 773.588.9158
Kids and Mothers Should Not Wait for Healthcare: Repeal of a 5-year Bar on Immigrant Children and Pregnant Women is a Must
Korean American Communities Push for SCHIP
(Washington, D.C.) – In anticipation of a bill that President-elect Obama is expected to sign upon taking office, Korean Americans are hopeful and anxious. In the second week of the 111th Congress, there is a great expectation for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s proposal to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) with a repeal of the 5 year waiting period for legal immigrant children and pregnant women for Medicaid and SCHIP. On the other hand, there is concern over reports that the Senate version will not include this important provision expanding healthcare access. This provision is in line with what the American public wants, and what the National Korean American Service & Education Consortium (NAKASEC) and its affiliates would support.
As leading members of the America’s Future Starts with Healthy Children Campaign, NAKASEC and the Korean Resource Center are equally concerned that the proposed bill contains a move by the federal government to prevent states from extending access to care for parents and childless adults. While SCHIP reauthorization is not the vehicle for healthcare reform, Korean American communities consider it a sign of how committed Congress and the new President are to relieving working families who face barriers to health insurance. NAKASEC and affiliates urge community members to tell their Senators to include parents, and legal immigrant children and pregnant women in any SCHIP reauthorization bill. Ask to speak with your Senator by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 1-800-828-0498.
At this politically decisive moment, the Campaign invites Congress members in the House and Senate to view 60 pieces of original artwork that were chosen from nearly 400 entries received throughout the country. These free, public art exhibits celebrate and humanize the issue of children’s healthcare and help to remind us all about the broad public support for the expansion and reauthorization of SCHIP.
Friday, January 23, 2009, 9 am unveiling
Rayburn House Office Building, First Floor Foyer, Washington, DC
Viewing 9 am to 5 pm
Monday, January 26, 2009, 10 am unveiling
Union Station, West Hall, Washington, DC
Viewing all day, Monday, January 26 to Wednesday, January 28, 200
REMINDER TO LOS ANGELES PRESS: Korean Resource Center will hold a press conference at 10AM (PST) on Thurs., Jan 15, 2009 at 900 S Crenshaw Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019. Students whose art works will be featured at the exhibition will be available for an interview at the event tomorrow.
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NAKASEC is a grassroots public policy organization that promotes civil rights, immigrant rights, and the full participation of Korean Americans in U.S. society – on issues such as healthcare and immigration reform. NAKASEC and its affiliates believe that everyone living and working the United States should have access to quality, affordable medical care, and that a reformed State Children’s Health Insurance Program would be a first step to fix the healthcare system. For more information on the upcoming art exhibits, please visit www.iwanttobehealthytoo.org.
SCHIP is a program that funds two-thirds of programs that states have created to expand access to care for children in families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but cannot afford to purchase private insurance on their own.
