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Health Care A Leader in Congress on Health Issues • Member, House Committee on Energy and Commerce • Chair, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Health Task Force • Member, Democratic Caucus Health and Medicare Task Force • Member, Congressional Universal Health Care Task Force Fighting to Cover the Uninsured Today, 45 million Americans live without health coverage, including 10 million children. Approximately 1 in 3 residents in the San Gabriel Valley lack health insurance. The growing uninsured problem affects all of us - it's a national problem that needs a national solution. Congresswoman Solis supports a guaranteed health insurance system and access to affordable, quality healthcare for all Americans. Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Latinos, Asian Pacific Islanders, and African Americans suffer many diseases, such as diabetes and obesity, at much higher rates than the population in general. As Chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' Task Force on Health and a member of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, Congresswoman Solis is a leader in the fight to eliminate racial and ethnic health disparities. Congresswoman Solis is a co-author of comprehensive legislation to expand access to health insurance, increase research and prevention of chronic diseases that are having devastating impacts on minority communities, and provide culturally and linguistically appropriate health care services. Protecting Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Plan (SCHIP) Medicaid is one of our nation's most important health care programs. More than 20 million Americans depend on Medicaid coverage, including more than 10 million children and 4 million seniors. That is why Congresswoman Solis strongly opposes proposals to cut Medicaid, reduce services, or alter the fundamental structure of the program. Congresswoman Solis supports: .. extending Medicaid eligibility to uninsured parents of children who are enrolled in SCHIP; . allowing federal support for states like California which provide health services for lawfully present immigrant children and pregnant women; . outreaching to those not yet enrolled who are eligible for services; and . increasing the availability of Medicaid and SCHIP matching funds for states to provide interpretation and translation services. Expanding Non-Traditional Health Service Programs For individuals who speak a language other than English, navigating our complex health care system can be more frightening than being sick. Many immigrants are ineligible for public programs and even those who are eligible often fear going to the hospital or seeing a doctor. Non-traditional programs, such as the Promotoras de Salud, help bridge the gap for immigrants who need healthcare assistance. Congresswoman Solis has introduced H.R. 1968 - Community Health Workers Act of 2007, legislation to authorize federal funding for non-traditional programs because of their invaluable efforts to reach underserved communities in ways that traditional healthcare cannot. Improving Health Literacy Health literacy is the ability of individuals to process and understand the basic health information and services they need to make appropriate health disparities. A report recently found that nearly half of all American adults - 90 million people - have limited health literacy. Health literacy has major effects on the health of Americans and the ability of the health care system to provide effective, high-quality health care. Congresswoman Solis strongly supports public and private efforts to ensure that all Americans have basic health literacy skills to function effectively as patients. Promoting Women's Health Congresswoman Solis has made improving women's health one of her top priorities. She is very concerned about the diseases that disproportionately affect women, such as breast cancer, ovarian cancer, stroke, diabetes, and, in particular, heart disease. Congresswoman Solis is working to find out how to best treat women diagnosed with these diseases, and, more importantly, about how to prevent these illnesses among women. |
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