OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) — U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra visited Oakland on Tuesday as the last stop of his National Latino Health Tour to discuss improving Latinos’ access to affordable health care.
Joining a panel of staff and patients at Oakland’s La Clínica de la Raza, located in the historically Latino neighborhood Fruitvale, Becerra called California the “blue chip” in President Joe Biden’s goals to expand health care access for underserved communities across the country.
Becerra said as the first Latino to serve as the department’s secretary, he wants to highlight the challenges Latinos face in seeking quality health care around the country.
“Even in big cities like Oakland, there’s a desert of health care services,” he said. “We want families to understand that they should not wait until things get worse.”
Former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro, CEO of the Latino Community Foundation, cited in his remarks a study showing 22% of Latinos nationwide had experienced mental health issues within the last year, but only one-third of those affected sought care for it. In another study in California, 20% of Latinos reported experiencing “mild psychological distress.”
“During the pandemic and through Covid, the challenges regarding mental health in our community — every community — have only intensified,” Castro said.
Starting in July, California will begin moving counties away from cost-based reimbursement systems to improve care quality as part of the CalAim program, according to Jane Garcia, La Clínica’s CEO.
Garcia said that while she approves of that change, it requires support from the state as the health care workforce faces major staffing vacancies.
The clinic’s director Dr. Joseph Perales said different levels of care are often provided without compensation as health care providers struggle to address many people’s needs with fewer resources.
He said the current supply of qualified health care workers cannot meet the demand for behavioral health care, particularly as the number of health care providers in the Bay Area has shrunk dramatically.
Several clinic patients told Becerra, speaking in Spanish, that they have dealt with suicidal thoughts and suffered physical abuse from family members. They also described how the clinic is located by one of the most heavily trafficked rapid transit stations in Oakland, and said the Fruitvale community has faced increased violence in recent years.
Becerra said he wants to help educate people about their rights to health care services in California, even in health care deserts such as parts of Oakland. He said many essential workers employed in America are not yet citizens and struggle to access the same services as other workers.
“We want people to know, you may not have insurance, but you still have access to health care,” he said. “You may not live in a community where there are doctors nearby, but you still have health care.”
Asked about the billions of dollars in lobbying that medical insurance and pharmaceutical industries spend each year opposing policies to make health care more equitable, Becerra advised companies, “Don’t fight us, join us."
“President Biden made it clear — we’re going to expand health care to more Americans,” he said. “So if you’re a CEO of one of those companies that want to stand in the way, we’re going to fight back. Health care is not a commodity. You should not be making profits off of health care — everyone needs health care, it’s like water.”
Becerra defended the Biden administration’s approach to providing health care services for immigrants, amid a heated battle with Texas and Florida over the federal government’s ability to interfere with how states give or deny access to immigrants seeking aid.
The administration has faced pushback in recent months for maintaining policies to slow the number of people entering the country at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Becerra said that the nation's "blue chip," California, has gone further than any other state in expanding health care access to people, has the largest number of people who have health insurance and offers health care to people regardless of immigration status. Asked about how different that reality is for immigrants outside of California, he said: “I think President Biden has shown that if you work hard in this country and you do things the right way, there will be a path for you. None of us should be left out.”
Becerra has spent a week visiting several states to discuss the Biden-Harris administration’s investments in mental health care, cancer research and treatment, the Affordable Care Act Marketplace and lowering drug prices within Latino communities.
If you are having thoughts of suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.
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