APIAHF

At this moment, Congressional leaders are preparing the final draft of health care reform legislation that will land on the President's desk. Two key priorities for the immigrant community are at risk of being left out of this historic bill. Tax-paying, legal immigrants must currently wait 5-years before they can enroll in Medicaid. These future American citizens should not have to wait this long to access affordable health care. The Senate version of the health care reform bill also excludes undocumented immigrants from accessing the health care Exchange(s) where they can purchase affordable, unsubsidized health coverage. Excluding this population means greater costs for everyone through the institution of expensive and time-consuming administrative hurdles to determine immigration and citizenship status. The President and our Congressional leaders need to hear your voices NOW. We want to ensure that they understand how critical these issues are to the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander communities.