While most of us are aware there’s a new healthcare law coming, there’s probably few among the non-native speakers of English that really understand how it affects them. That’s why it’s so important the presentation titled “The Health Care Law and You” has been translated into 10 different Asian languages. This resource has been translated by the Office of Public Engagement at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services into the following languages: Chinese, Tagalog, Korean, Vietnamese, Hindi, Bengali, Hmong, Khmer, Samoan and Tongan. Those of you that need an English version can find one here.
In addition, the APIAHF (Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will also be co-sponsoring in-language webinars in all 10 languages at the end of May. Information on how to sign up for these webinars isn’t available yet, but should be soon. We plan on updating this post with the information once it’s available.
I was personally moved to write about the availability of these new materials, since my own parents were immigrants and came to the United States with little understanding of how health insurance worked. My dad was fortunate enough to be employed with a job that included health insurance. But no one ever explained to him how insurance worked, insurance was a concept and product that wasn’t known about in Taiwan. So for the first few years we lived in the U.S. and needed to see a doctor, or get medical services, my father paid the bills out of his own pocket, not understanding the procedure to get reimbursed for his expenses. For our family this was a huge burden as my father didn’t get paid much to begin with, and our family was counting every penny. I wish there were resources available back then to explain insurance to my dad.
So if you know someone doesn’t speak English as a primary language, and could use help understanding the new health care law, be sure to point them to these resources, and have them check this blog or the APIAHF website for an update on when the webinars will be available.
