White House encourages AAPIs to get health insurance before deadline 

Since open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act–also known as Obamacare–began in 2013, the number of people in the United States without health insurance has fallen by nearly 18 million, according to the White House.

However, over 200,000 Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in the US still remain uninsured. There was a significant decrease in the percentage of uninsured adults (ages 18-64)–16.1 percent of Asian Americans in 2013, compared with just 8.8 percent in June 2015–according to the National Health Interview Survey.

To help close that gap by the Jan. 31 enrollment deadline, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (WHIAAPI) hosted its third annual AAPI Affordable Care Act Week of Action beginning Tuesday, Jan. 19 to address access barriers and close the gap within the Asian-American community when it comes to healthcare.

“There are still many Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders across the country who remain uninsured for various reasons — lack of language access, confusion over eligibility, and limited knowledge of health insurance,” Dour Thor, executive director of the WHIAAPI, told NBC News. “We are also seeing high needs in certain subgroups, such as Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders, and Southeast Asian refugee populations. This week of action aims to expand outreach to the farthest corners of the community.”

The Week of Action began on Tuesday, Jan. 19 with a call between U.S. Surgeon General and Vice Admiral Vivek Murthy, who is Indian, and other influences in the Asian-American community, including Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, to share a special message for AAPI communities regarding healthcare.

The WHIAAPI held a “Twitter Storm” on Wednesday, Jan. 20, with special guests discuss important issues regarding healthcare, using the hashtags #GetCovered and #AAPIHealth. Actors and actresses including George Takei, Janina Gavankar, Kal Penn, Kelly Hu, and Angry Asian Man blogger Phil Yu took to social media to answer questions and share their experiences with healthcare, and the benefit it has on the community.

On Thursday, Jan. 21, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) held a webinar, giving overview plus Q&A on COFA migrants’ eligibility for Marketplace coverage, and helpful information about financial assistance for those in need.

The White House will be highlighting in-person assisters from Action for Health Justice — multilingual community members who are trained to help those enrolling for health insurance — as well as the White House’s enrollment materials available in multiple translations. Community organizations are also scheduled to hold local enrollment events throughout the week; in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Mississippi, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Utah.

Multiple resources, including multilingual YouTube videos featuring prominent Asian American influencers in government, have also been made to further educate the community on the importance of getting covered.

“We all benefit when we all have a shot at health. Reducing #HealthDisparities is one way we can make that happen,” tweeted Surgeon General Murthy. “Being poor is too great a factor in determining who is healthy and who isn’t. This is unacceptable in a nation as great as ours.”

The last day to enroll for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act is Jan. 31, 2016. For more information and to enroll, visitwww.healthcare.gov.