The State of Latino Health Twitter Chat

1 Comment(s) Posted

Cross-posted via the Department of Health and Human Services
By, Julia Eisman HHS New Media Communications Director

Not all Americans have equal access to health care - or similar health care outcomes. Racial and ethnic minorities, and other underserved populations often have higher rates of disease, fewer treatment options, and reduced access to care. This is because many Latinos have less access to health insurance and half of Latinos don't have a regular doctor. Because of this unequal access to health care, troubling health disparities have emerged.

But the good news is that the health care law, the Affordable Care Act, is the most powerful legislation in decades for reducing health disparities. A few ways the law will help reduce grave health disparities, is by: expanding preventive care like cancer screenings and immunizations at no additional costs, better coordinating care like home visits for expectant mothers, expanding diversity and cultural competency, ending insurance discrimination so people who have been sick can't be excluded from coverage or charged higher premiums, and making care more available in underserved communities by investing in our primary care workforce and community health centers.

With this in mind, we want to talk to you about the law's impact on the Latino community. On Tuesday, February 21st, at 3:00pm EST Mayra Alvarez, Director of Public Health Policy at HHS, will be available on Twitter at @HHSgov to answer questions about how the law helps the Latino community get a fair shot at better care and lower costs. We'll also be teaming up with National Council of La Raza, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, and Families USA. We will be accepting and responding to questions in English and Spanish, depending on what language the question is asked.

You might be wondering:

  • How does the law protect me?
  • Will the law save me money?
  • What kids of preventive services does the law cover?
  • What are the benefits that are available to me now, and what is coming in future years?

Please submit questions using the hashtag #LatinoHealth. Go to @HHSgov on Twitter to join.

For more information about the benefits of the new health care law, please visit www.healthcare.gov or our Spanish-language site, www.cuidadodesalud.gov

Did you like this? Please share it…

Comments

  1. Ryan Jackson's avatar

    Ryan Jackson

    Permalink
    The real purpose of this is to provide healthcare to illegals. Legal minorities are provided with every opportunity to receive healthcare. They are provided a free public education, more opportunities than most to receive funding for a higher education, and if that education does not prepare them as the most qualified for a position, then spots in the workforce are held for them by affirmative action. Each month 40% of my paycheck is withheld, I must submit to drug test, and I must also do my job right or I will be without one. Healthcare is provided by my employer, so the question is how did I become so lucky to get this handed to me? I studied during high school, studied and worked through college (received small grants, scholarships, and loans), and I do what my employer tells me to do. That is how people should receive healthcare, not by paying for it out of the 40% taken out of my check. I do not make enough to provide for the family that I want much less everyone else’s.

Leave a Comment