Online Program

Oral

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, an estimated 11.5 million undocumented live in the U.S.A. – 58% of Mexican descent, 23% of other Latin American descent, 11% of Asian American Pacific Islander descent (approximately 2% from each country: Korea, China, Philippines, India, and Vietnam) and 8% of African, European and other descent. In 2010, when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed into law, many worried that America’s undocumented would live in the shadows, and not be eligible for ACA benefits. In 2013, when the Comprehensive Reform bill (CIR) was introduced, some hoped that the CIR could offer a solution for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and others seeking a pathway to U.S. citizenship. As we countdown to the 2014 ACA implementation, it is important to determine the status of the CIR, and if the CIR’s policy making dynamic will change the plight of America’s undocumented. It will also be important to define where and how the undocumented will be able to access public health and health care services in 2014 and beyond. To provide a dynamic update on the intersection of Immigration Reform and the ACA, we will show a segment of “Why We Rise” and invite a civil rights leader who sits at the negotiation table with the bi-partisan authors of the CIR to share insights on CIR; a health policy executive to share insights on the intersection of the CIR and the ACA; a community health center consortium executive to share insights on where the undocumented will turn for public health and personal healthcare in 2014 and beyond, and a project director at a university-based health disparities research center to share insights on the value of community health workers (CHWs) in addressing the unique challenges and opportunities faced by America’s undocumented in 2014 and beyond.

Session Objectives: Discuss the current immigration system and how the proposed Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill could affect immigrants and their families. Describe how comprehensive immigration reform, if enacted, will impact immigrants in the context of accessing public health and health care in the USA, in 2014 and beyond. Describe how ACA implementation and the CIR are changing patient demographics and challenging the sustainability of Community Health Centers. Discuss how multi-lingual and multicultural Community Health Workers can contribute to the individual’s health and the community’s public health and well-being within the context of the ACA and the CIR.

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)