What language barriers might impede California's diverse population from enrolling in health care reform -- and what can be done to help? An April 30 webinar featured California's leading experts on the health of the state's often marginalized ethnic and racial groups and expand upon a recent Center study that found significant barriers for HMO enrollees with limited English skills. The findings are important given that, in 2009, nearly one in eight HMO enrollees in California was considered "limited English proficient" (LEP) and that LEP individuals will make up a sizable portion -- as much as 36 percent -- of California's newly insured population after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
Title: "Confronting Communication Barriers for Limited English Proficient Populations on the Eve of Health Care Reform"
Date: Tuesday, April 30
Moderator: Dylan Roby, director, Health Economics and Evaluation Research Program at the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, and assistant professor of health policy and management, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
Panelists:
- Max Hadler, research associate, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (Max Hadler presentation.pdf)
- Ellen Wu, executive director, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN) (Ellen Wu presentation.pdf)
- Chad Silva, policy director, Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (LCHC) (Chad Silva presentation.pdf)
Read the related publication: Limited English Proficient HMO Enrollees Remain Vulnerable to Communication Barriers Despite Language Assistance Regulations
About the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) is one of the nation’s leading health policy research centers and the premier source of health policy information for California. UCLA CHPR improves the public’s health through high quality, objective, and evidence-based research and data that informs effective policymaking. UCLA CHPR is the home of the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) and is part of the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.