Dear Senator:

As organizations committed to achieving health equity, we ask that you join Senator Mazie K. Hirono and sign on as an original co-sponsor of the Health Equity and Accountability Act (HEAA) of 2020, the Senate companion to Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García’s H.R. 6637 introduced in April 2020.

The coronavirus pandemic has shown how important it is for all people—no matter where they were born or where they live in our country—to have easy access to affordable health care. The pandemic has also exposed long-standing racial and ethnic health disparities that we have sought to eliminate for decades,  including:

• Black adults are 60% more likely than White adults to be diagnosed with diabetes.
• Adults living with a disability are more likely to have cardiovascular (heart) disease.
• Nearly six in 10 Latino adults are unable to communicate with their doctors due to language barriers.
• Black women are three to four times more likely to experience a pregnancy-related death than White women.
• Asian Americans comprise 60% of the U.S. population living with Hepatitis B.
• 45% of undocumented adult immigrants are uninsured, compared to 8% of citizens.
• American Indians and Alaska Natives continue to die at higher rates than other Americans in many categories, including cirrhosis, diabetes, suicide, and colorectal cancer. ,

That is why it is imperative that we work together to advance inclusive policies like HEAA to eliminate barriers to coverage, expand access to affordable health care and target investments that strengthen the health care system so that it works for all, especially for individuals living at the intersections, in order to eliminate health disparities.

HEAA is the only legislation that directly addresses the intersections of health disparities and immigration status, age, disability, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, language, and socio-economic status. Since the 108th Congress, HEAA has provided policymakers with a comprehensive set of smart, strategic policy solutions designed to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities. Since then, the Congressional Tri-Caucus, comprised of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) has led the reintroduction of HEAA every Congress.

In the 116th Congress, HEAA (H.R. 6637) was introduced in the House by Congressman Jesús “Chuy” García on behalf of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC). H.R. 6637 received widespread support from more than 100 Members of Congress and 230 local, state, and national organizations.

As we collectively work to respond to today’s unprecedented public health and economic crises, HEAA serves as a timely and strategic approach for Congress to provide immediate relief to hardworking Americans who continue to be impacted by COVID-19. For these reasons, we ask that you join Senator Mazie Hirono and sign on as an original co-sponsor for HEAA in the Senate this Congress.

Thank you for your leadership and commitment to achieving health equity for all.

Sincerely,

National Organizations
State and Local Organizations