The White House, in partnership with health advocacy groups, has targeted Asian Americans in an aggressive campaign to boost enrollment under the Affordable Care Act by Feb.15.
From web meetings with the U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, to a planned #AAPIhealth Twitterstorm with George Takei, this week’s approach is necessitated by the relatively high numbers of uninsured AAPI members.
“Many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) still lack health insurance coverage and don’t see a doctor on a regular basis,” said Tina Tchen, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff for the First Lady, on a special White House blog post. “In 2010, nearly 24% of Asian Americans and over 37% of Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders reported that they had not seen a doctor in the past year. Through the Affordable Care Act, nearly 2 million uninsured AAPIs gained access to health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace, and it is likely that eight in 10 will qualify for financial assistance.”
To make sure the AAPI community has full access to what they need to make an insurance choice, new in-language resources have been developed. The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released new From Coverage to Care toolkits available in Korean, Chinese and Vietnamese. The kit shows users how it all works, from getting a health insurance plan, to finding a doctor, to making an appointment.
There’s also eight new in-language videos in Burmese, Hmong, Khmer, and Lao.
Assistance already is available in more than 150 languages at HealthCare.gov, or by calling l 1-800-318-2596
IN-DEPTH