One year after the Patient’s Bill of Rights in the Affordable Care Act began to go into effect, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard announced that millions of Americans are benefiting from the improved health care coverage and lower costs. The protections of the Patient’s Bill of Rights became effective for all plan years beginning on or after September 23, 2010. That means that, by now, one year later, all Americans with private health plans are now receiving the protections of the Bill of Righ... Read more

In collaboration with the Congressional Tri-Caucus, the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations and members of the Summit Host Committee convened the 2011 Health Equity Summit. The summit brought together a distinguished group of national, local, and community opinion leaders to discuss policy reforms and initiatives that move our country toward racial equity in health care. The Congressional Tri-Caucus is comprised of ... Read more

Members of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Congressional Black Caucus (CBC), and Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) introduced the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2011, a bill that complements the efforts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and focuses on eliminating racial and ethnic health disparities. The bill was formally introduced today by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, Chair of CAPAC’s Healthcare Taskforce, and included 68 original cosponsors. “This legislation ... Read more

Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) congratulated the Chinatown Service Center’s Community Health Center on the completion of its North Hill Street clinic expansion which will enable the health care facility to serve more patients and offer additional medical and dental services. At the re-opening and ribbon cutting event at the North Hill Street clinic, the congresswoman presented a certificate of congressional recognition in honor of the occasion to the center's leadership. The congres... Read more

Today, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) released the results of a study entitled, “Race, Ethnicity and NIH Research Awards.” The study found that despite its current programs to increase the racial and ethnic diversity among its intramural and extramural biomedical and health services research workforce and grantee pool, there are serious and persistent racial and ethnic disparities in the manner in which NIH funding is awarded. “We sincerely applaud NIH Director Collins for his leadershi... Read more

Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34), Chairwoman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Taskforce on Health, made the following statement today in honor of National Health Center Week: “Community health centers provide affordable, high quality, cost effective health care to all people, regardless of their ability to pay. Throughout the country and its territories, America’s health centers serve more than 20 million people, including more than 800,000 patients in Los Angeles County – 100,000... Read more

On the eve of the 46th anniversary of the enactment of the Medicare program, Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) spoke out against repeated Republican efforts to dismantle the popular health insurance program for seniors and people with disabilities. “As we celebrate the 46th anniversary of the enactment of Medicare, I reject the Republican view that the program must be scrapped and replaced with a new system that shifts costs to seniors,” Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard said. “Over ... Read more

Despite the fact that our nation has made progress to reduce the rate of teen pregnancy, many minority communities continue to struggle with disproportionately high rates. To address disturbing statistics that show over half of all Latina and African American girls will become pregnant at least once before they turn 20, Congresswoman Roybal-Allard and U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer introduced The Communities of Color Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Act of 2011. “Teenage pregnancies often lead to signif... Read more

(July 20, 2011) Washington, D.C. – Speaking out against potential cuts to key safety net programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid as part of ongoing debt ceiling negotiations, Members of Congress who belong to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus, and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus held a press conference today on Capitol Hill to say in a unified voice that such cuts would be devastating to their constituents and vulnerable citizens throughout... Read more

Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-34) introduced the "Nursing Home Patient Protection & Standards Act” to ensure consistent standards in nursing homes across the nation. H.R. 2522 provides training and whistleblower protections for the surveyors who oversee the quality of care provided by nursing home facilities. “According to a November 2009 GAO Report, nursing home inspectors known as surveyors are being improperly pressured to ‘under-report’ the problems with care of nursing home reside... Read more