February 8, 2017 - Latino Leaders Oppose the Confirmation of Tom Price as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services

LATINO LEADERS OPPOSE THE CONFIRMATION OF TOM PRICE AS U.S. SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda, a coalition of 40 of the nation’s preeminent Latino advocacy organizations, sent a letter to the U.S. Senate opposing the confirmation of Tom Price as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services citing Price’s consistent attacks on the Affordable Care Act (ACA), record reflecting xenophobic sentiments, hostile views regarding the LGBTQ community, and constant efforts to undermine a woman’s ability to make personal, reproductive health care decisions.

NHLA has long advocated for greater investment in and full implementation of the ACA and the development of policies to increase health care coverage for immigrants and seasonal farmworkers, increased access to Medicaid, policies that allow young parents and families to thrive, increased access to a full range of comprehensive reproductive healthcare including the restoration of robust funding for the Title X family planning program, and policies that provide LGBTQ Latinos health coverage, including the removal of arbitrary transgender-specific exclusions from all health plans and state Medicaid programs.

“The Affordable Care Act has been the nation’s most transformative health care laws in recent history and has provided over four million Latinos with affordable and quality health coverage. Maintaining and improving this law must be central to the agenda of any Secretary of Health and Human Services, as well as eliminating health disparities, protecting a woman’s right to full reproductive health services, and combatting discrimination in health care,” said Hector Sanchez, NHLA Chair and Executive Director of the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA). “Mr. Price’s record reflects an obsession with destroying the Affordable Care Act, blocking women’s access to important health services, and support for anti-immigrant and homophobic policies. Tom Price poses a threat to Latinos’ health. NHLA stands in strong opposition to his confirmation.”

“The nomination of Representative Tom Price to lead HHS is incredibly concerning, especially for Latinxs, over 4 million of which could be uninsured if the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is repealed. Price’s stance against the ACA would also place LGBTQ communities—who gained nondiscrimination protection through the ACA—in danger,” said Jessica González-Rojas, Co-Chair of the NHLA Health Committee and Latina Task Force and Executive Director of the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH). “Similarly, Tom Price has repeatedly aligned himself with policies that limit women’s ability to make the best reproductive healthcare decisions for themselves and their families. Price is a clear threat to the health, dignity, and justice of women, Latinxs, immigrants, and LGBTQ individuals. We oppose his nomination and believe he is unfit to lead HHS.”

View or download a PDF of the letter.

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ABOUT THE NATIONAL HISPANIC LEADERSHIP AGENDA

The National Hispanic Leadership Agenda is composed of 40 of the leading national and regional Latino civil rights and public policy organizations and other elected officials, and prominent Latinos Americans. NHLA coalition members represent the diversity of the Latino community – Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Latino Americans. NHLA’s mission calls for unity among Latinos around the country to provide the Latino community with greater visibility and a clearer, stronger influence in our country’s affairs. NHLA brings together Latino leaders to establish policy priorities that address, and raise public awareness of, the major issues affecting the Latino community and the nation as a whole. For more information, please visit: www.nationalhispanicleadership.org.

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