From County to Country, Democrats Care About Your Health

Recently we received the good news that a Community Health program for Asian Americans and Pacific Islands (AAPI) in Santa Clara County was allocated $1 million in funding as part of the federal spending bill. This initiative was spearheaded by County Supervisor Joe Simitian, added to the federal bill by Rep. Ro Khanna and signed into law by President Biden.

The need for a comprehensive look at the differing needs of communities within the AAPI umbrella is well laid out in this article.

Vietnamese Americans, for example, experience the highest rates of liver cancer, while Filipino Americans experience the highest premature birth rates. Asian Indian women have the highest age-adjusted breast cancer rates, while Japanese Americans are the highest proportion diagnosed with high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

We South Asians are well aware of the prevalence of certain propensities within our community; nearly all of us know at least one premature loss of a dear friend or family member due to a heart condition. This Community Health initiative is likely to focus efforts on education, outreach, and data on health trends.

But it is not only at the county level that Democrats are delivering. Recently President Obama returned to the White House to mark the closure of a loophole in the signature Affordable Care Act passed during his tenure, a loophole that affected nearly 5 million Americans whose insurance rates were unmanageable prior to this action. By fixing this glitch through executive order, President Biden avoided Republican obstruction in Congress to expand Obamacare access to more Americans.

The Affordable Care Act which has transformed the lives of millions of American families (including that of this writer) has been under constant siege from Republicans determined to drag Americans back to the days of benefit caps and pre-existing condition refusals. With more support in Congress, we can hope for better deals on life-saving medications like insulin, and protection of medical care for seniors. If health care is one of the issues you care about, make a commitment to vote for Democrats these midterms and take a friend or family member with you.