Rep. Joaquin Castro and Rep. Ruben Gallego will lead discussion on the importance of participating in Medicare open enrollment and leveraging the Inflation Reduction Act to bridge healthcare inequities.
Washington, D.C. — UnidosUS Action Fund and Protect Our Care will host a virtual press conference on Nov. 15 at 3 P.M. ET / Noon PT to discuss the open-enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act and Medicare and how the Inflation Reduction Act is benefiting Latinos nationwide. The conversation will feature Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-TX 20th District) and Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ 3rd District).
The Inflation Reduction Act works to bridge the healthcare gap and improve access to medication by improving prescription drug coverage and lowering drug prices in Medicare. Americans pay 2 to 3 times more for their prescription drugs than people in other wealthy countries leading to racial and ethnic health inequities. States with the highest Latino populations like California, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Florida and Texas benefit from the Inflation Reduction Act as half of the drugs selected for negotiation treat conditions that disproportionately impact Latinos.
PRESS CALL:
WHO:
Representative Joaquin Castro (D-TX 20th District)
Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ 3rd District)
Rafael Collazo, Executive Director, UnidosUS Action Fund
Yamelisa Taveras, founder, The Unidos Foundation
Ana Valenzuela, Deputy Director, Arizona LULAC
Leslie Dach, Chair, Protect Our Care
WHAT: UnidosUS Action Fund and Protect Our Care Press Conference to discuss ACA and Medicare open enrollment and Inflation Reduction Act benefits to recipients.
WHERE: Virtual Conference via Zoom registration
WHEN: Wednesday, November 15, 2023 at 3 P.M. ET // 12:00 P.M. PT
WHY: The Inflation Reduction Act has made health care and prescription drugs more affordable for more people in the United States and for Latinos in particular. Latino seniors are most likely to experience affordability challenges with the Inflation Reduction Act than any racial/ethnic group in America.
- Latinos are among the most vulnerable to needing high-cost prescriptions.
- Latino seniors are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to report difficulty affording prescription medications than their non-Hispanic White counterparts.
- Latino seniors are among the least likely of any racial/ethnic group to have ever received a shingles vaccine compared to their non-Hispanic White, Black, and Asian counterparts.
- Latinos are 1.7 times more likely than non-Hispanic white adults to have been diagnosed with diabetes.
- Latinos are twice as likely to be hospitalized for treatment of end-stage renal disease related to diabetes compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts.
- Latinos are more likely to have higher levels of disability-related diabetes (3.2%) and hypertension (2.7%) compared to their non-Hispanic White counterparts.
- Latinos are among the most likely to have activity limitations due to arthritis of any racial/ethnic group.