BUSH/GORE: National Hispanic Medical Association President to Meet With Candidates
The head of the National Hispanic Medical Association will meet this week with Texas Gov. George W. Bush (R) and Vice President Al Gore (D) to "drive home the seriousness of the problem" of Hispanic health care, according to a report in the AP/San Francisco Examiner. NHMA President Elena Rios is expected to convey to the candidates that "Hispanics, while just 11% of the U.S. population, account for 35% of those without health insurance." The NHMA, the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine and the Commonwealth Fund met on Oct. 18 to discuss problems in Hispanic health care and released several suggestions for improving Hispanics' access to care, including "expanding and simplifying existing programs such as Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program; expanding government outreach efforts; training more health care workers to speak Spanish; and using government incentives to encourage small businesses to offer insurance benefits" (AP/San Francisco Examiner, 10/18).
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