White House starts drive for more Asian health insurance sign ups

WASHINGTON, D.C. – A public awareness drive to encourage Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to enroll in the Health Insurance Marketplace is starting today, Tuesday, January 19, sponsored by the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs).

In collaboration with the Action for Health Justice, the White House will launch the third annual AAPI Affordable Care Act Week of Action to encourage enrollment.

Individuals can visit HealthCare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596 for 24-hour customer assistance in nearly 250 languages. Individuals can also find local in-person assistance at LocalHelp.HealthCare.gov.

“Since the first open enrollment period in 2013, nearly 18 million Americans, including many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, have gotten life-saving, quality and affordable health coverage,” said U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy.

“But our work is not done. There are still more than 200,000 AAPI community members who don’t have the safety, security and peace of mind that comes with having health coverage. We must close that gap because health equity is a civil rights issue, and it’s an AAPI community value,” Murthy explained.

In May 2015, Dr. Murthy was appointed by President Obama to serve as Co-Chair of the White House Initiative on AAPIs.

Week of Action activities consist of a stakeholder call with Dr. Murthy on Tuesday, January 19 from 3-3:30 pm ET and an #AAPIhealth Twitterstorm with special guests George Takei and Angry Asian Man’s Phil Yu on Wednesday, January 20 from 3-4 pm ET.

In addition, profiles of the in-person assisters—trained community members who help individuals through the enrollment process—and stories about enrollment experiences will be featured throughout the week.

One in three AAPIs is limited English proficient, and one in four AAPIs has not seen a doctor in the past year. “Affordable healthcare has been a crucial need within our diverse AAPI populations,” says Doua Thor, executive director of the Initiative.

“Trained experts, known as in-person assisters, speak more than 50 languages and are helping people in AAPI communities throughout the nation enroll in health insurance. We also have many translated materials to help guide the process,” Thor said.

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