Minority Health Awareness Month
America is always striving to create “a more perfect union” in the face of the many challenges, disparities, and inequality that still exist. American citizens work hard every day to achieve the American dream. Essential to every person’s ability to reach that dream is the maintenance of one’s personal health. Amidst this great progress, however, racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care persist across minority communities. Minority communities still continue to suffer higher rates of serious health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS. April is National Minority Health Awareness Month, and this year’s theme is “Accelerating Health Equity for the Nation.” This platform is an excellent opportunity to shed light on the racial disparities in our nation’s healthcare system and offer tenable solutions for moving toward health equality.
Just last month, we celebrated the sixth anniversary of the passing of the Affordable Care Act, a groundbreaking piece of legislation that expanded healthcare to millions of Americans. Despite the toxic political rhetoric surrounding the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” as many of its critics have called it, the statistics prove that it has been a success. According to an MSNBC article published around the bill’s anniversary, it has been successful at meeting three important objectives: providing more Americans with health insurance coverage, lowering premium costs, and expanding Medicaid in states that have agreed to do so. According to U.S. Census Data, 16.3 percent of Americans were not covered by health insurance in 2010. In 2016, that statistic has fallen to 9 percent. Roughly 20 million people have been covered as a result of the Affordable Care Act. And millions of Americans have been able to qualify for Medicaid because of the expansion in 32 states and the District of Columbia.
Although Texas has not chosen to expand Medicaid, 10.6 million Texans with pre-existing medical conditions are now able to gain coverage that was once denied to them. Medicaid expansion would expand that protection to more than 1.1 million more Texans. I will continue to support the Affordable Care Act and continue to call upon the State of Texas to expand Medicaid under this law to expand the health and financial security of millions of deserving Texans.
The Affordable Care Act is a major step in the right direction for addressing the racial disparity in our nation’s healthcare system; particularly, as a result of the Medicaid expansion’s nondiscrimination clause and the expansion of Health Professional Opportunity Grants. Because minority populations disproportionately constitute the individuals who qualify for Medicaid, Medicaid expansion directly impact minority access to quality healthcare. Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act extends federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination based on race, color or national origin, gender, disability, or age to any health program receiving federal assistance. This clause particularly protects elderly minorities with pre-existing conditions who were previously excluded entirely from healthcare. And finally, Health Professional Opportunity Grants are mechanisms of federal funding that bring resources to healthcare providers that interact with low-income, minority communities and populations. Grants of this nature ensure neighborhoods and families will not be neglected under this new system.
I was very proud to support and honored to witness the passage of the Affordable Care Act, arguably the most significant piece of legislation passed during my Congressional career. As the first African American Chief Psychiatric Nurse at the Dallas Veterans Affairs Hospital, I know first-hand the impact healthcare has on minority communities. I have seen the devastation to families who watch helplessly as their loved ones suffer when medical care is not readily accessible. I have seen the financial devastation as working Americans struggle to pay ever-mounting hospital and doctor bills when they are faced with chronic illnesses. And, I know that with thoughtful, compassionate legislation, we can alleviate the suffering of millions of Americans. For these reasons, I support the Affordable Care Act, and I am fighting to pass a mental health bill that will have the same sweeping reform on the industries that will provide relief to those suffering from mental impairments. I ask that you join me in the fight to expand critically needed services to minority communities that have systematically been excluded or denied quality physical and mental health care.
