The Health Access Project (HAP) at Asian Americans Advancing Justice - Los Angeles (Advancing Justice-LA) seeks to address the health needs of the diverse Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities through outreach, education, and advocacy.
The HAP team works alongside other Advancing Justice-LA units to address vital issues that impact the health and well-being of AANHPIs and other communities of color, including limited English proficient (LEP) individuals and immigrants. Our project strives to ensure that all Californians have equal access to various public benefits and resources not just limited to health programs.
In the community, HAP’s work is informed by the Health Justice Network (HJN), a statewide multi-ethnic, multi-lingual coalition of community based organizations and health clinics serving AANHPI communities and other communities of color. Together with the HJN, HAP works to advance a proactive agenda to outreach and educate in multiple languages, increase access to health coverage, and reduce health disparities in our communities. We advocate for AANHPI and other communities of colors’ right to affordable, accessible, and quality health care, while growing community partnerships and leadership and empowering individuals and grassroot organizations to engage in policy advocacy.
The Health Access Project accomplishes its goals through:
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Coalition and Capacity Building:
- Supporting, expanding and strengthening the 60+ members of our Health Justice Network (HJN) and other collaboratives statewide to share information and resources about health care reform. We train, provide technical assistance, and convene our collaborative partners.
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Outreach, Education, and Enrollment:
- Increasing community knowledge and understanding of health reform changes on the federal, state, and local levels.
- Educating AANHPI and communities of color about California’s health programs, including Covered California, expanded Medi-Cal, and county based safety net programs through promoting the value of purchasing health coverage, and transforming attitudes towards health care.
- Maximizing AANHPI enrollment, retention, and utilization of the state’s health care programs.
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Policy Advocacy:
- Conducting public policy advocacy on health care issues, including health care reform implementation in California under the ACA through coalition work and community storytelling.
- Increasing access to culturally and linguistically appropriate health care services by the AANHPI community
