New York, NY — Access Health NYC, a city-council funded initiative that supports
community-based organizations (CBOs) providing education, outreach, and
assistance to New Yorkers in need of health
care and coverage, launched its multi-language Guide to Your Health
Care Rights & Options, a community education guide detailing key
health access and coverage topics for immigrant and underserved
communities such as Emergency Medicaid, language access, paying
hospital bills, and more.
Led by the
Coalition for Asian American Children and Families (CACF), Commission on
the Public’s Health System (CPHS), Community Service Society of New
York (CSS), FPWA, and the New York Immigration
Coalition (NYIC), Access Health NYC agencies and dozens of city
organizations also call on New York City Council officials to increase
the initiative’s funding from $1 million to $2.5 million for the
2018-2019 fiscal year, which would go towards funding both
current member organizations and helping more groups serve vulnerable
New Yorkers.
“Quality
healthcare is a right but rarely a norm for many New Yorkers,” said FPWA
CEO and Executive Director Jennifer Jones-Austin. “Access Health NYC’s
partner organizations have the trust of their
communities and make every effort to connect New Yorkers to the health
services they deserve. Culturally and linguistically appropriate
outreach tools are key to reaching the immigrant, LGBTQ, and low-income
populations needing coverage. It is critical that
New York City continue to lead the nation in ensuring healthcare
coverage for its most vulnerable given the policy disruptions at the
federal level.”
Now in its
third year, the initiative developed its Guide to Your Health Care
Rights & Options community education guide to ensure more culturally
responsive and linguistically appropriate health
access resources are available to New Yorkers. The guide is now
available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Haitian Creole,
Russian, Urdu, and Bengali. Awardee agencies say that with more funding,
additional resources could be created for a wider
range of communities.
"Health
care access is a human right,” said Council Member Carlos Menchaca. “New
York City's vulnerable communities deserve health care outreach that is
culturally competent and in the language(s)
they speak. Community based organizations do that best and they need
increased funding to make sure immigrants and low-income New Yorkers use
all the health services available to them."
"Local
initiatives like Access Health NYC have become more important than ever
now that immigrants are in this period of stress and vulnerability from
anti-immigrant federal policies. New York City
officials, especially City Council Speaker Johnson and Councilmember
Levine, have publicly committed to supporting our immigrant communities,
and public education about health coverage must be part of this
response”, said Steven Choi, executive director of
NYIC. “Access Health NYC's ability to get accurate and timely health
services information to immigrant New Yorkers is invaluable. Its funding
must be enhanced to $2.5 million for the initiative to reach its full
potential.”
Access
Health NYC funding supports the work of the five lead organizations, as
well as thirteen CBOs, numerous service providers and sites, and a
consumer helpline working throughout the five boroughs
to connect underserved populations to healthcare. Since its inception,
Access Health NYC providers have hosted over 750 workshops with over
10,000 New York residents in attendance and given over 10,000 referrals
to New York City’s various social and human
service provider resources.
"Despite
the gains of the Affordable Care Act, New York City's Asian Pacific
American (APA) community - a vast majority of whom are foreign-born -
remains uninsured,” said Coalition for Asian American
Children and Families Co-Executive Director Anita Gundanna. “Our
communities lack access to insurance and health care services because
critical health-related information is not language accessible or
culturally competent. APA-serving community-based organizations
rely on Access Health NYC to support their critical work to fill in the
gaps and ensure that all communities understand their rights to and
options for quality health care."
“Community-based
organizations are best positioned to reach New York’s remaining
uninsured, an estimated 400,000 people,” said Elisabeth R. Benjamin,
Community Service Society Vice President for Health
Initiatives. “Increasing resources to Access Health NYC will enhance a
strong community-based infrastructure to improve access to coverage and
care for vulnerable New Yorkers, including the many immigrants who do
not know that these programs exist or are afraid
to use them.”
You may view the community education guides
here.
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