FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 5, 2024
CONTACT
Katherine Villeda
860-937-6432
Health Equity Solutions Calls on CT Lawmakers to Lower Costs of Healthcare, Increase Equity this Session
Hartford, CT [February 5, 2024] – Health Equity Solutions (HES), a Connecticut-based organization dedicated to addressing critical social issues and promoting health equity, announced their 2024 legislative priorities. HES is calling on lawmakers to strengthen hospital financial assistance policies to reduce medical debt, lower costs of health insurance for families with lower-incomes & immigrants and continue to work with the Commission on Racial Equity in Public Health to create a strategic plan for racial health equity and community engagement. Health Equity Solutions' Legislative Priorities include:
Access to Comprehensive Health Care: ensuring access to comprehensive and integrated health care, while eliminating barriers to health needs.
Advocate for Health Care Affordability: promote equitable policies that ensure more affordable pathways to health care.
Monitor and Support the Implementation of Anti-Racist Policies and Practices: ensure equity-focused policy victories are implemented in a timely fashion and with community input.
Community partnership and engagement is core to HES’s mission. HES arrived at these goals through conversations with over 150 Connecticut residents and identified basic needs, affordable care, and access to comprehensive care as top priorities for health equity.
“Our theory of change is simple: Educate, Agitate, and Advocate," said Ayesha R. Clarke, Executive Director of Health Equity Solutions. "We prioritize understanding people's wants and needs, drawing insights from their experiences, and employing research and community collaboration to translate nuanced concepts into tangible policy solutions for working people in the state of Connecticut. Our approach centers on paying attention to individuals, learning from their lived experiences, and working collaboratively to enact meaningful change in the pursuit of health equity.Lawmakers are encouraged to remember that progress is not a one-time change, and health equity will not be achieved unless it is a priority each and every legislative session. HES recommends that equity is considered in all policy decisions, including as housing, transportation, workforce development, and more. Budget adjustments made this session should likewise consider the increased cost of living for Connecticut residents as well as the increased cost of healthcare. The work of community listening is made possible thanks to the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund. HES would like to thank the fund for its support of educational and community outreach efforts. The funds received will continue to support these efforts. With the use of these and similar funds, HES has conducted dozens of workshops and training sessions, reaching 350 participants, and has held over 20 listening sessions with underserved populations across Connecticut. Since 2014, HES has worked to measure health inequity in Connecticut, and change outcomes through policy and advocacy. Successes, made in collaboration with health and racial equity partners, include…
The reimbursement of community health workers via Medicaid through a program designed in collaboration with HUSKY members and CHWs in PA 23-186 in June 2023.
The declaration of racism as a public health crisis and establishment of a Commission on Racial Equity in Public Health, through PA 21-35 in June 2021.
The passage of a bill requiring the collection of race, ethnicity, and language data in healthcare settings to identify disparities, through PA 21-35 in June 2021. HES’s advocacy efforts has already revealed disparities in access to preventive screenings among different racial groups. Armed with this data, we are now working with healthcare organizations to develop targeted interventions to address these disparities.
The certification of Community Health Workers, to support the education, wage-earning ability and respect of some of healthcares’ most relied upon workers, through PA 19-117 in June 2019.
For more information about Health Equity Solutions and its legislative agenda, visitHealth Equity Solutions.
ABOUT HEALTH EQUITY SOLUTIONS:
Health Equity Solutions’ mission is to advance health equity through anti-racist policies and practices. That mission is motivated by the vision that every Connecticut resident will obtain optimal health regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. HES’ work is fueled by the belief that increasing health equity requires leadership, advocacy, and collaboration to advance systems-level policy change to transform the lives of those most affected by health disparities in Connecticut. This translates to work focused on policy change driven by the needs of individuals in the state. HES does its work with a three-pronged focus to educate, agitate, and advocate. HES is a non-profit organization located in Connecticut.
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