A report was released just today, entitled "Health Care Reform Proposals Hold Promise for Diverse Communities" and conducted by the Having Our Say Coalition, a group that aims to address needs of communities of color in California. The study, funded by the California Endowment, found that under the new health care proposals put forth by the Governor and legislative leaders, we would expect to see an increase of insured residents by 2.5 million people.
The study also touches upon issues of cultural competency and linguistic backgrounds, both of which are important components of access to care. Under the Nunez/Perata and Governor's plans, "7 in 10 of the newly insured will be from communities of color," an encouraging statistic to say the least.
But of course, greater difficulty comes about in deciding financing structures, payment systems, how to further reduce the uninsurance rate, and perhaps, why 7 in 10 is acceptable, when 6 in 10 of those not covered will still be from communities of color. Finally, the findings beg the question of whether having insurance means you will actually even get care in our already-over-burdened health care system.
Posted by Amber at August 16, 2007 10:59 PM
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