CA AA & NHPI Health Equity Roundtable Convening

Sacramento, CA – On August 6th, federal and state officials, members of the California Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus (AAPI Caucus) and the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs (CAPIAA), and community based organizations throughout the state will convene to discuss the significant language access, mental health and anti-Asian violence issues faced by Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA & NHPI) community.  The dual pandemic of COVID and anti-Asian hate highlighted the lack of accessible services at the state level and the need for critical culturally and linguistically competent resources and workforce investments, especially in mental health and for victims of violence and racism.

“Our AA & NHPI communities continue to face significant health inequities that result in poor health outcomes and increased mental health needs. We can and must bring forward solutions and bridge understanding to ensure a healthy future for our communities,” states Asian Health Service CEO Julia Liou.  “Language access is a top factor in ensuring meaningful access to quality health care, yet our communities continue to face barriers accessing critical services in their language.”

This unique convening hosted by Asian Health Services, the AAPI Caucus and CAPIAA in collaboration with the California AA & NHPI Health Equity Coalition members will focus on key challenges and priority solutions while discussing the implications of newly approved federal language access regulations in health care on California’s health policies and standards.

“The Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander community continues to be overlooked despite the incredible disparities they experience,” says Natalie Ah-Soon, Co-Founder/Co-Chair, Regional Pacific Islander Taskforce. “This convening comes at a time when we are in need of urgent solutions so that our community members are not left behind.”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS’) Office for Civil rights (OCR) recently finalized regulations updating the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as the Health Care Rights Law. This new regulation, Section 1557 of the ACA, which will be discussed at the convening, reinforces Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and strengthens requirements that health entities provide meaningful access to their programs for people with limited English proficiency.  “Although California has many legal requirements and policies to ensure that limited English-proficient (LEP) populations are provided with language assistance services, including oral or interpreter services and written materials or translation services, many of these requirements have yet to be effectively implemented, resulting in many community members lacking critical language assistance services and subsequently suffer serious health disparities,” said Doreena Wong, Policy Director at Asian Resources, Inc.

Numerous research studies have documented the health disparities, adverse experiences, and significant harm to individuals with LEP have had during provider visits and with health care systems due to the absence of culturally and linguistically appropriate health care services. “It is critical to ensure community stakeholders have an opportunity to provide input on the language access plans and policies of state agencies, especially the California Health and Human Services Agency to better address the cultural and linguistic needs of community members with LEP,” said Priscilla Huang, Executive Director at the Center for Asian Americans in Action.

“Language access is paramount to the overall health and wellness of our diverse communities,” states Senator Dave Min. “As the only Korean American in the Legislature, I am proud to partner on this AA & NHPI Health Equity Roundtable to help improve language services and quality healthcare access for patients both here in California and across the country.”

While AA & NHPIs are the fastest growing racial/ethnic group in California, AA & NHPIs are often overlooked and misrepresented in mainstream narratives related to health disparities and inequities. “It is so important for providers to prioritize cultural sensitivity and language translation and interpretation services to build trust and ensure all APIA members can access and benefit from essential health resources,” said Khydeeja Alam, Executive Director of CAPIAA. “We aim to bridge the gap between the community and the government through these crucial conversations. These discussions provide government officials with the opportunity to hear directly from community-based organizations working on the ground. We are excited about these opportunities and confident that they will lead to meaningful impacts in our communities.”

“Language barriers harm AA & NHPI communities by preventing our communities from accessing and benefiting from our healthcare systems,” said Assemblymember Evan Low, Chair of the California Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus. “I continue to advocate for resources and laws to breakdown language barriers, and I am proud to partner with community-based organizations, such as Asian Health Services, CAPIAA, and our state leadership, to address these inequities that exist to ensure the well-being of our AA&NHPI communities.”

Federal and state department leaders, elected officials and community leaders attending the roundtable convening will include:

Kota Mizutani, White House Office of Public Engagement

                    Erika Niniyou, White House Initiative on AANHPIs

Melanie Fontes Rainer, Director, Office Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services

                    Dr. Jeffrey Reynoso, Health and Human Services Region 9 Director

Dr. Ninez Ponce, Director, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research

Senator David Min

Assemblymember Phil Ting

Assemblymember Evan Low

Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen

Kaying Hang, President, Sierra Health Foundation

Community Based Organizations

Commissioner David Yee, CA Commission on APIA Affairs

Commissioner Rajan Gill, CA Commission on APIA Affairs

Pam Chueh, State Chief Equity Officer, Cal Government Operations Agency

Dan Torres, Chief Equity Officer, California Health and Human Services Agency

Maureen Keffer, Assistant Equity Officer, California Health and Human Services Agency

Dr. Jeffrey Reynoso, who will be speaking at the roundtable, shared that, “Language access is a responsibility that all of us in positions of power hold to serve our communities effectively. We must own our role in ensuring that our most underserved community members have the opportunities they deserve and must work together across the public and private sectors to do so.”

The AA&NHPI Health Equity Roundtable Convening will be held on Tuesday, August 6th at the California Endowment on 1414 K Street, #100 from 1:00PM to 4:30PM.