By AMANDA RODRIGUEZ
City health officials and insurance spokespersons on Tuesday hosted a press conference to explain to the Latino and Chinese communities their bilingual options before the Affordable Care Act deadline on March 31.
In partnership with eight healthcare providers, the Health and Hospitals Corporation HHC told reporters that bilingual counselors would be provided to smooth the path to universal health care for uninsured persons in the application process.
“The majority of our patients are Latino or Chinese, and for many, English is their second language,” said HHC Health Director Martha A. Sullivan at Gouverneur Hospital where some non-English speakers were already registering in the background. “Navigating the healthcare system can be challenging for people with limited English proficiency, and our facility has a successful track record of offering in-language resources to the community”.
The venue on the Lower East Side where many Chinese and Spanish speakers live, offers the counseling at no charge to the patient, regardless of income and legal residency.
The counselors were scheduled to be available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
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