HEAL Act advocacy continues as an opportunity for families to prioritize family health without concern for their immigration status

For Immediate Release: May 3, 2024
Contact: Virginia Lucy, media@napawf.org

WASHINGTON D.C. – The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) praises the Biden Administration for expanding healthcare access for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), specifically eligibility for Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges. 

The update also reflects NAPAWF’s continued efforts to pass The HEAL for Immigrant Families (HEAL) Act: a bill that removes legal barriers to affordable health care amongst immigrant women and families. The bill also includes a provision that would permanently provide ACA access for DACA recipients. According to the Department of Homeland Security, there are over 14,200 DACA recipients from the countries of origin for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities. 

Sung Yeon Choimorrow, NAPAWF’s Executive Director, issued the following statement: 

“As co-leads of the HEAL Coalition — a collection of 35 grassroots organizations passionate about reproductive health, reproductive justice and immigrant health care — NAPAWF and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice have mobilized thousands to amplify the importance of removing arbitrary barriers to health insurance for immigrants. These individuals pay into our tax and social security system and still cannot access Medicaid, Medicare, or the Affordable Care Act exchanges. 

Thanks to the HEAL Coalition’s unrelenting phone banking, door-to-door canvassing, Congressional meetings and a variety of educational community events, we have cause to celebrate. We cannot retreat now. We will continue to push for DACA recipients to also access critical Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) benefits that are vital health supports for low-income immigrants.

The restoration of health care for immigrant women enables them to make decisions about their bodies, their lives, and their communities with dignity. HEAL is the key to reproductive justice for many AANHPI women. 

We urge the Biden Administration to remain steadfast in its commitment to address the healthcare needs of immigrant communities. There is much to do to dismantle the structural and discriminatory barriers in healthcare and reproductive healthcare systems.”

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The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is the only multi-issue, progressive, community organizing and policy advocacy organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls in the U.S. NAPAWF’s mission is to build collective power so that all AAPI women and girls can have full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities.