NEW YORK (BUSINESS WIRE – July 15, 2010) – UnitedHealthcare executives hosted a two-day health care symposium this week to discuss health care trends, challenges and services for Asian-American communities in New Jersey and New York.
A UnitedHealthcare spokesperson said the local Asian-American communities expressed interest in engaging on the subject of health care reform and health disparities – a subject that has created confusion and anxiety.
The symposium – held in Fords, N.J. on July 13, and Flushing, N.Y. on July 14 – was held in collaboration with the New Jersey Chinese American Chamber of Commerce, Korean Chamber of Commerce and Asian Indian Chamber of Commerce. The attendees, totaling about 200, included care providers, community organizations, local business executives, health insurance brokers, social workers and senior center directors, as well as board members and members of the three chambers.
Key speakers included UnitedHealth Group Executive Vice President Simon Stevens and UnitedHealthcare Asian Initiatives Vice President Christopher Law. Stevens reviewed key elements of the recently approved federal health reform bill (Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) and the significant challenges facing the nation’s health care system.
Law discussed UnitedHealthcare’s cultural and linguistic services designed to bring better health care information to Asian-Americans to help them make more informed decisions and, ultimately, achieve improved health outcomes.
“Our local Asian-American communities expressed interest as well as anxiety on the subject of health reform, so it was important to hold a community event to address questions and provide helpful information,” said Law. “For the past 16 years, UnitedHealthcare has helped bridge health care language, cultural and information gaps for Asian-Americans, and this symposium reinforces UnitedHealthcare’s commitment to the Asian-American community.”
UnitedHealthcare Asian Initiatives, established by Oxford Health Plans in 1994, was one of the first health plans to provide culturally relevant health care services to the Asian-American community in New York City’s Chinatown area. In 2002, UnitedHealthcare Asian Initiatives opened an office in Queens to expand services to the Korean-American community.
In 2005, UnitedHealthcare Asian Initiatives began providing health services to the Pakistani-American and Indian-American communities. The UnitedHealthcare Asian Initiatives team includes approximately 60 bilingual health care professionals who are fluent in English, Korean and six dialects of the Chinese language.
Additionally, UnitedHealthcare’s care provider network includes more than 10,000 physicians and other health professionals who serve more than 50,000 customers in Chinese, Korean, Pakistani and Indian communities in New York City and New Jersey. Many of the physicians are part of an alliance with the Chinese American Independent Practice Association and the Korean Independent Practice Association.
