Everyone has a health care story. What’s yours?

The health care reform debate is heating up fast. With the Obama
Administration and policymakers in Congress poised to introduce their
proposals to fix our broken health care system this summer, the time is
ripe for us to raise our voices and be seen and heard on this
critically important issue. The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) wants to hear from you so we can
link real world examples to the policy reforms we want Congress to
make. If you have a story, please share it with us. We’ll post your story on our blog, Warrior Prose, and may deliver your message on one of our Hill visits. (Please indicate if you would like to remain anonymous when we post or share your story.)

Have you/your family faced a barrier to accessing affordable health insurance coverage?

If so, tell us your story.

Nearly 18% of Asian American women and 24% of Native Hawaiian women are uninsured.
API women are more likely than their white or male counterparts to live
below the poverty line and lack employer-sponsored health coverage
because many API women are employed in low-wage industries, work
part-time, or work for small employers that do not offer health
insurance.  Newly arriving Asian immigrant women also
face the added burden of arbitrary waiting periods and meeting
burdensome documentation requirements, while undocumented immigrant
women are currently barred from all public health coverage programs. In
short, API women face greater challenges accessing and affording health
insurance.

Have you/your family been dissatisfied by the quality of health care received?

If so, tell us your story.

Health insurance coverage alone does not ensure access to quality
health services. The API community includes more than 30 diverse ethnic
subpopulations that vary by national origin, language, culture,
immigration status and economic status. As such, health services must
be patient centered
and take into account the impact of culture, language and gender
identity at all levels of assessment, diagnosis and treatment in order
to meet the needs of API women and their families.  Health
care reform must also invest in communities, the health care workforce
and public health programs to increase the resources, diversity,
distribution, cultural and linguistic competence and knowledge needed
to provide quality care for all API women.

Have you/your familiy experienced a gap in health care services due to your gender or race/ethnicity?

If so, tell us your story.

API women need comprehensive health care services that span a
woman’s lifetime and address her physical, mental and dental care
needs. Access to reproductive and sexual health services is a critical
component to well-woman care particularly because API women experience
a range of health disparities
including high cervical cancer and breast cancer rates and increasing
STI rates among young API women. Community-based prevention programs
are also critically important to help reduce disparities. Because women
in the API community already underutilize screening and counseling
programs, health care reform efforts must promote community-based
solutions that can help API women access safe spaces, improve health
literacy, and use comprehensive family planning services. 

Everyone has a health care story. What’s yours?