Hispanic physicians group calls for reform

Latinos Call for Health Care Reform
La Opinión, Jun 19, 2009

LOS ANGELES -- Latinos are calling on the White House to to take their views into consideration in the drafting of a health care reform bill, and California would be among the states to benefit, reports La Opinión. At a June 17 conference held in Washington, D.C., the National Association of Hispanic Physicians met with legislators and officials in the Obama administration to discuss the disparities in access to medical services among Latinos and other ethnic groups.

The call for affordable health insurance comes as California faces massive budget cuts to community clinics that provide health services for these communities. These programs include Extended Access Primary Care, which provides services to nearly 56,000 patients in Los Angeles alone, and the Healthy Families program that serves nearly 233,000 children in Los Angeles County, 56 percent of whom are Latino. Nearly 2 million Californians, including a 1.5 million children, will lose their health coverage due to these cuts.

There are currently 47 million people without health insurance in United States. In the case of California, about seven million people have no health insurance, including 34 percent of Latinos and three out of five Latinos under 65.