Latino Health Confab To Address Uninsured

 WASHINGTON  -- According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Hispanics are now 50 million persons or 18 per cent of the U.S. population, the largest ethnic group in the United States.

 Over 30 per cent of Hispanics are uninsured which means the Hispanic population will gain the most from the U.S. Health Care Reform implementation.

The National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA) will hold its 15th Annual National Conference, "Health Care Reform Implementation for the Hispanic Community," beginning Thursday, March 17th through Sunday, March 20, 2011 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington D.C.  This year's conference brings together health care professionals and experts from across the country to work with NHMA and the Obama Administration on new Health Care Reform.

Future programs need to increase outreach to new affordable health insurance, the quality of health care and prevention programs with cultural competence and language services, and recruiting many more Hispanic medical, nursing, dental and public health students.  "We believe that building a network of Hispanic health care leaders is the key to increasing health equity and key to the implementation of Health Care Reform for our communities," stated NHMA President and CEO, Dr. Elena Rios.

According to NHMA, implementation of Health Care Reform is both an opportunity and a challenge for this country. "As we approach the one-year anniversary of the Affordable Care Act signed into law, national policy leaders will address key challenges for Health Care Reform in Hispanic communities that require NHMA guidance," stated Rios.  Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, (CMS) Director, Dr. Donald Berwick, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Director, Dr. Mary Wakefield, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Deputy Director, Judith Monroe, and American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) CEO, Karen Ignani, will discuss their priorities and vision as to how their agencies can build culturally competent programs to outreach to the growing Hispanic population so more of them enroll in insurance and prevention programs, decrease costs of mental and physical care, and how they can create more jobs, especially a Hispanic health workforce who can be trusted in their communities to help change behavior and lead healthier lives.

The Honorable Julian Castro, Mayor of San Antonio, Texas will speak on "Building a National Agenda on Healthy Aging, Eldercare and Healthy Hispanic Communities.  Dan Reyna, General Manager, U.S. Mexico Border Health Commission will discuss "Sustainable Safety Net Care in Hispanic Regions of the U.S." Dr. Carlos Gonzales will keynote on how our nation needs Hispanic health care professional leaders to care for the expected 30 million new insured in this era of Health Care Reform.

This year's conference will include a Media Roundtable:  How to Use Media Effectively for Health Disparities, Prevention Messages: Television, Radio, Print, and Social Media.  MSNBC Analyst and Voto Latino Founder, Maria Teresa Kumar, ABC7 and News Channel 8 Anchor Scott Thuman, and Univision will provide physicians with key information on how to better access the media to discuss health efforts.

A special appearance and cooking demonstration featuring Hollywood Celebrity Latina Chef, Chef La La on Friday morning at11:00 a.m. in the conference's exhibit hall will also add a unique touch to the conference. As a Chef, Nutritionist and Author(Latin Lover Lite Cookbook) Chef La La (Laura Diaz) has appeared on the cover of Diabetes Focus, Health, Heart Healthy Living magazines, and is on the cover of Salud being launched at the conference. She has been featured on the Martha Stewart, and Today television shows. The idea that any ethnic cuisine can be good for you and still retain its "sabor," or flavor has become her mantra and her practice as a celebrity chef. She currently serves as Spokeswoman for the American Diabetes Association.  

Among the conference Sponsors are Office of Minority Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Johnson & Johnson, Maximus, Eli Lilly, Kaiser Permanente, Empire BlueCross BlueShield, Pfizer, PhRMA, and Merck.

Established in Washington D.C. in 1994, NHMA represents over 45,000 Hispanic physicians in the U.S