Equal Access to Health Care Can´t Wait
As a member of Congress I am often approached by people who are experiencing health care problems. A mother will tell me she is worried that her child occasionally has trouble breathing. A young woman will tell me that her grandmother won't go to the doctor because she is afraid she won't be understood if she speaks in Spanish. An elderly woman will tell me that her daughter's job does not provide health insurance and she is worried about what will happen if her child has to go to the doctor.

The community I represent includes parts of the San Gabriel Valley and East Los Angeles in California; more than 60 percent of the residents are Latino. For years I have suspected that our community faces higher disease rates and is less likely to receive appropriate care for our illnesses. Then in 2002 the renowned Institute of Medicine issued its landmark report entitled "Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care." This report opened Americans' eyes to the fact that in the United States, racial and ethnic minorities are less likely to receive routine medical care and more likely to receive a lower quality of health services - regardless of their income.

Now I knew that what I long suspected was in fact true - the community I represent was suffering from unequal health care access and quality. 

As chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Health Task Force, I knew I had to act. I worked in partnership with my colleagues in the Congressional Black Caucus, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, the Congressional Native American Caucus, and the Democratic leadership of the U.S. House and Senate, and together we introduced the Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act (H.R. 3459/S. 1833). This groundbreaking bill is designed to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities by expanding public health insurance programs to give more people access to health care, increase research into diseases like obesity and diabetes that disproportionately impact communities of color, and expand efforts to recruit and train more racial and ethnic minority students to become doctors, dentists and nurses.

Congress needs to act now to ensure that unfair health care treatment based on race or ethnicity is eliminated. Unfortunately, neither the Republican leadership in Congress nor President Bush has put racial and ethnic health disparities on the top of the agenda. While Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-TN) has introduced a different health bill that he claims would help communities of color, he has never consulted the Congressional Hispanic Caucus about the bill and he has not scheduled it for consideration by the Senate.

We have waited long enough. It is time for Congress to pass the Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act so that the Latino community can receive the high quality health care we deserve. No child should suffer from undiagnosed asthma. No granddaughter should worry that her grandmother can't go to a doctor because there is no translator on the premises. No mother should be afraid to get sick because she cannot afford the treatment.

Latinas are often a source of strength for our families. We must use that strength to make a difference nationwide. As soon as you finish reading this article, please call on your elected officials to support the Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act. Then call your mother, your sister, your daughter, your aunt, your niece, your goddaughter, your best friend - tell them to support the Healthcare Equality and Accountability Act too. Together we must tell Congress that Latinas care about their health and the health of their families. We want solutions - and we won't wait any longer.

by Congresswoman Hilda L. Solis

[This article has been edited for www.latinastyle.com. For the full version, check out the May/June issue of LATINA Style.]

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