Standing Up for Latino Tech Interests is Never “Misguided”

By Brent Wilkes on 01/15/2010 @ 12:08 PM

As the Federal Communications Commission prepares to review the tens of thousands of comments in its proceeding on new rules aimed at protecting the "open Internet," LULAC was disappointed to learn that our colleagues in the public interest and consumer organizations have again questioned the ability of civil rights groups to raise legitimate questions about the impact of these rules on those Americans who struggle to get online.

In a blog post last night (www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-aaron/why-the-right-is-wrong-ab_b_424023.html), Craig Aaron of Free Press called organizations like LULAC and National Urban League "misguided" for raising questions about the impact of net neutrality rules on consumer pricing for the Internet. This comes just a week after the Center for Digital Democracy's Jeff Chester called our organizations "tragic and shortsighted" for asking how net neutrality would impact at-risk communities who have not yet adopted broadband or those who are already stretch their thin budgets to subscribe.

LULAC is and always has been a part of the progressive community, fighting for the rights of marginalized Americans to be heard. We have worked for years to connect millions of Latinos to the Internet through our networks of community technology centers. So we are deeply disappointed by this dismissive treatment by our fellow travelers. The civil rights community has raised legitimate concerns about the impact of net neutrality rules on affordability, and we've simply asked the FCC to consider these concerns in their deliberations. We hope that other progressives will address rather than ignore these important questions.

To read more about the concerns LULAC has raised, read Brent’s op-ed in the Houston Chronicle (www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6814399.html) or LULAC’s filing with the FCC.

Permalink | Comments ()

Bringing Change Home

By Jorge Mursuli, President and CEO Democracia-Ahora on 11/25/2009 @ 03:54 PM

In 2008, Latinos came out to vote as we’ve never voted before. Retrospectively, pundits and analysts mused over how it had all happened. Was it immigration? Culturally competent messengers? Increased resources? For those of us on the ground the answer was apparent: all of the above.

But there was something else, something that was bigger than any candidate or any issue, and that was our community’s desire for change. The bill that is in front of the Senate today is a much-needed starting point towards that change. It addresses our communities’ concerns around health disparities, inclusivity, and discrimination.

Now it’s up to us, the same voters who ushered in change, to make sure that this bill is improved so as to ensure the protection and inclusion of all members of our families.

It’s no surprise to anyone who works and lives in our communities that we as Latinos represent the highest percentage of uninsured. This means that we have the most to gain from the Senate’s health care bill. Paradoxically, it means we also have the most to lose if it does not pass and if certain issues are not addressed.

For example, when we talk about affordability – which is the ultimate barrier to health care access – it’s clear that a public option is a necessary means towards that end both in terms of offering increased choice and inspiring competition.

Further, it is time to move from an illness-based system of care to a preventative one. For our community in particular, that means promoting culturally and linguistically competent prevention and health care services, and recruiting more minorities into health professions. While many good doctors can provide diagnosis and care, it sometimes takes an enhanced level of cultural understanding to explain to immigrant mothers and fathers how best to care for their newborns and other loved ones.

In the next few weeks, our community will need to step up and continue our role as agents of change. Let’s encourage our Members of Congress to ensure that health reform is inclusive of our community’s unique needs, that it covers as many uninsured as possible and improves coverage for those who already have it.

Permalink | Comments ()

LULAC National President Rosa Rosales Releases Statement on the Inclusion of Puerto Rico in the House Bill

By Rosa Rosales on 10/30/2009 @ 03:45 PM

Washington, DC – The League of United Latin American Citizens National President Rosa Rosales hails the inclusion of Puerto Rico in legislation rolled out by House Democrats yesterday. A vote is likely to take place next week.

“The House bill presented today is a triumph for all of Puerto Rico. The island will receive an unprecedented amount of funds and we are on track to meet our goal that not a single Puerto Rican is without adequate insurance.

The legislation includes important provisions that will allow the government of Puerto Rico to provide healthcare coverage to the more than 400,000 islanders who don’t have a medical plan or whose coverage falls short.

The plan would bring $12.8 billion in Medicaid funds to Puerto Rico between 2011 and 2019, a dramatic $9.1 billion increase over current funding under the federal program for low-income patients. The island would receive another $3.7 billion in an insurance exchange program and allow coverage for Puerto Rico residents of moderate incomes who don’t qualify for the local Health Reform.

Importantly, the House bill would require the federal Department of Health and Human Services to present a plan to Congress before October 1, 2013 a detailed plan on bringing Puerto Rico to full parity in Medicaid funding.

The Senate Finance Committee plan, meanwhile, would grant Puerto Rico and the territories a smaller Medicaid boost, or around $7 billion, and not provide access to the exchange. A competing plan from another Senate panel envisions including the territories.”

The League of United Latin American Citizens, the largest and oldest Hispanic membership organization in the country, advances the economic conditions, educational attainment, political influence, health, housing and civil rights of Hispanic Americans through community-based programs operating at more than 700 LULAC councils nationwide.

Permalink | Comments ()

In honor of Senator Ted Kennedy legacy, pass health care reform

By Rosa Rosales on 10/26/2009 @ 11:30 AM

Thirty-nine years ago, Senator Kennedy introduced his first bill to overhaul our nation's broken healthcare system and provide affordable coverage to all Americans. Health care reform was referred by Senator Kennedy as the cause of his life and today we are closer than ever to achieving his dream. As the Senator stated time and time again, ‘we believe that access to healthcare should be a right — not a privilege — in this country.’ Thus to honor his wish we shall pass health care legislation this year.

Let us continue his cause. Let us take action this year to pass healthcare reform. And let us make Kennedy's vision for America a reality.

Reforming health care in this country is an urgent matter. For decades, we have endured a broken system that restricts and denies coverage when individuals need it most, leaving many of us one illness away from bankruptcy. Today, over 46 million Americans do not have health care coverage. More than 30% of Latinos are uninsured.

Our current flawed broken health care system leaves tens of millions of Americans without coverage, resulting in poor health and substandard levels of service. If we don’t take the necessary actions to reform the system while we have the chance, it will be a long time before the opportunity arises again. We have a choice: We can use this crucial time to shape workable health care reform proposals for our families, or we can waste it away by caving to the disruptive behavior of those who will never support reform.

The public option is central to real healthcare reform. Reform that lowers costs and ensures all Americans get the quality and affordable healthcare.

We are open to bipartisanship on legislation that results in concrete action and solutions. The basic principle of any bipartisan solution must be to ensure that health care is about the individual. We can achieve this through a public option.

Thus far, we have experienced attacks on the public option. For example, this month attacks on the public option have been rife with doublespeak. We hear from conservatives that they do not want government involved but on the other hand do not want their government provided Medicare taken away.

The Latino community cannot afford to go another year without health care reform. Every day whether it's the graduate student who can't afford to pay for coverage or the homeless mother and her two children that are going from one relative's home to another, we must ensure that all Americans have access to coverage. A public plan option has the potential to promote competition, help bring down costs and increase coverage for all Americans.

Permalink | Comments ()