By Steve Angeles, ABS-CBN North America Bureau <\/p>\n
Sept. 9, 2014 <\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES While President Barack Obama has touted the Affordable Care Act as one of his biggest accomplishments in office, community advocates say many are still left out, especially because of their immigration status. <\/p>\n
One California lawmaker is trying to change that with the Health Care for All bill. <\/p>\n
The current Affordable Care Act aims to give health coverage to millions of uninsured Americans. <\/p>\n
This new bill is expected to be re-introduced by State Sen. Ricardo Lara in November, and like the previous bill, it is expected to be co-sponsored by Filipino American Assemblyman Rob Bonta. <\/p>\n
Senator Lara spoke at a New America Media briefing recently. <\/p>\n
Its going to save us money in the long term, she said. Were going to be able to have a healthier community, and when we say health care for all, we mean health care for all. Unfortunately, the federal government doesnt cover our undocumented communities, and we have a lot of families who are mixed households where some have health insurance and some dont, because of immigration status. <\/p>\n
Undocumented immigrants say while they wait for immigration reform to pass or for President Obama to issue executive orders to give them deportation relief, staying healthy has been a challenge. <\/p>\n
We all go through aches and pains, and a lot rely on over-the-counter medicines, said Alessandro Negrete, an undocumented immigrant. A lot of us go to emergency rooms and if we were a smart state we would realize that preventive care is a lot less costly than emergency care. A lot of those services provided wed save a lot of money. <\/p>\n
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CA senator looks to provide health care for states undocumented<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By Steve Angeles, ABS-CBN North America Bureau Sept. 9, 2014 LOS ANGELES While President Barack Obama has touted the Affordable Care Act as one of his biggest accomplishments in office, community advocates say many are still left out, especially because of their immigration status. One California lawmaker is trying to change that with the Health Care for All bill Continue reading