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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | ||||
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| REMARKS BY: | TOMMY G. THOMPSON, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES |
| PLACE: | National Conference of La Raza Annual Conference, Miami, Florida |
| DATE: | July 23, 2002 |
To everyone, let me say, "Buenos dias," especially to my friends here representing the great state of Wisconsin!
I'm so very pleased to be with you here in this beautiful city to celebrate the richness of Hispanic life in our great country and to thank all of you with La Raza for your commitment to fulfilling the great promise of America - "liberty and justice for all," regardless of race or ethnicity, for every citizen of our wonderful country.
For 34 years, La Raza has worked to secure the American Dream for Hispanic Americans. You do tremendous work, and I thank you so very much for it.
I've been looking forward to speaking with you for another reason, as well: I've always regarded Spanish as one of the most beautiful languages in the world.
We have so many things to be thankful for in this wonderful nation, but we all know our job is not done. So in the next few moments, I want to talk with you about a priority we in the Bush Administration share with you and that we take very seriously - improving the health and well-being of Hispanic Americans.
I'm so very proud of HHS' participation at this year's conference. HHS has been working closely with NCLR's Institute for Hispanic Health coordinating the Department's participation and planning a series of workshops for the first ever "Health Afternoon" to take place today.
Deputy Secretary Claude Allen, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Cristina Beato and so many other HHS officials are here with us today. Thank you all for being here and for all you do. Let me ask you all to stand and be recognized.
Each of these individuals represents a department of which I'm so very proud. HHS touches every life, every day.
Whether we're talking about accessibility to health care or the quality of the food we eat ... the Medicare system or cancer research the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services makes a difference in every American family.
Among the lives we touch are those of the more than 35 million Americans of Hispanic origin. In a little over two decades, that number will be close to 62 million, almost 20 percent of the U.S. population.
So, Hispanic health is vital to our national health and this afternoon, I want to discuss some of the things that have the most direct bearing on the health and well-being of Hispanic men, women and children.
First is the issue of disparities in health and treatment. The second is access to health care and needed medical information. And the third is preventive health.
As to health disparities, you know better than anyone that some grave health disparities exist between minority communities and the US population at large.
First, let me share some good news: When I became Secretary, there was a backlog of hundreds of state Medicaid waiver proposals and plan amendments. Some of them stretched back into the 1980s.
So, we started clearing the backlog, aggressively reviewing the proposals and eliminating the huge bureaucratic logjam that had clogged the system for years and years. Now, our goal is to review every waiver proposal within 90 days and to date, we have approved nearly 1,950 waivers and state plan amendments.
Since January 2001, we have approved waivers and plan amendments that have expanded eligibility to about 1.8 million people and enhanced benefits for about 4.5 million people.
In fact, we issued a report last week showing that since 1997, the percentage of uninsured children in our country has fallen from 13.9 percent to 10.8 percent.
That means more than 2 million children have gained insurance over the past five years, and many of them are poor Hispanic American children. So, while we still have our work cut out for us, progress is being made in making health care more accessible ... particularly for minority communities.
Yet I cannot gloss-over the fact that serious problems remain. Just consider a few troubling facts: Hispanic women over 65 years have twice the risk of cervical cancer as white non-Hispanic women Hispanics are almost twice as likely to have diabetes as white non-Hispanics and one out of three Hispanic children are uninsured, compared with one out of eleven white non-Hispanic children.
My friends, these disparities are unacceptable. The gaps in condition and treatment must be addressed, and we are addressing them, comprehensively and energetically.
At the National Institutes of Health, we are increasing funding to eliminate health disparities dramatically. It was $2.4 billion in 2001 and we're requesting nearly $3 billion for 2003. That's a jump of $600 million in just two fiscal years.
So, we're making a very sound investment in the health and well-being of Hispanic Americans and other minorities.
One of the key ways we're doing this is through our emphasis on Community Health Centers. Across America, these neighborhood health centers play a vital role in reaching and treating underserved and minority communities, from our biggest cities to our smallest towns.
That's why last week we issued almost 150 Community Health Center grants totaling almost $20 million to help more Americans gain access to quality health care. And the President's budget for next year seeks $1.5 billion to provide 1,200 communities with new or expanded health centers by 2006.
Now, this problem cannot be solved simply by government. It will take a partnership of health caregivers, local communities, churches and government working together to end disparities. But let me assure you that we in the Bush Administration are passionate about this issue and we're committed to doing our part.
For example, we're continuing to expand and coordinate support for our Centers of Excellence.
These Centers - located in academic institutions and community-based organizations that serve significant numbers of racial and ethnic minorities - promote research into health disparities
and identify strategies and models that can reduce those disparities.
CMS has awarded grants to Hispanic researchers under the Health Services Research Grants Program. These researchers will conduct research on access, utilization, quality of services, and activities related to health screening, prevention, and education of Hispanic Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
And earlier this month, we convened the first-ever National Leadership Summit on Eliminating Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health. The conference, which I'm sure many of you attended, was aimed at developing strategies for closing the health gap. This is a personal priority of mine and of Deputy Secretary Allen's.
It's for that reason that the President's budget proposal for next year includes $20 million for the Healthy Communities Initiative. This initiative will build partnerships between public and private organizations at the local level to help prevent new cases of diabetes, asthma, and obesity.
In the near future, we'll also be convening an "Elder Hispanic Health Conference." This conference will provide a unique opportunity to collaborate with Federal agencies, Medicare+Choice plans, hospitals and clinics in Hispanic-serving communities, social service providers, and Hispanic health care leaders. And Spanish-speaking representatives serve CMS's 1-800 Medicare hotline 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
These are some examples of efforts that represent our long-term commitment to addressing health disparities among Hispanic Americans. I'm here today to tell you that we will not be satisfied until all Americans - of every race, ethnicity and heritage - have access to quality care.
But healthcare is not just the responsibility of the health provider - or the government. Health care starts with the individual. It starts with healthy habits - with exercising - with eating right. I'm talking about prevention - or, as you might say, "prevenciσn." But however you say it, it is fundamental to reducing health disparities in America.
I don't understand why we put so much into curing illnesses but so little into preventing them. And minority populations suffer the most from this trend, from inactivity and overweight. Sixteen million out of about 280 million Americans have type 2 diabetes - about one out of 20.
But one out of ten adult Hispanics has diabetes. One out of ten - a level almost twice as high as the population at large. That's unacceptable, and I've asked La Raza to join me and get information about how to avoid these illnesses to Hispanic children.
And it's not just adults. Children are developing type 2 diabetes, and again, Hispanic children are suffering disproportionately. This was once considered a disease of the middle-aged and elderly - and now we're seeing it in our children. By 2020, roughly one in every five American children will be of Hispanic origin. We must take action now, and we are.
The good news is that these diseases can be prevented. Just last August, the National Institutes of Health announced a great finding - the simple loss of 10 to 15 pounds can decrease your chances of developing type 2 diabetes by 58 percent. The N-I-H study showed that just doing simple things like walking 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, can have major health benefits.
That's the kind of message we need to get out to our Hispanic communities. We need your help to make this happen. We're helping to provide the tools to deliver the message by making many of our major prevention and anti-diabetes initiatives available in Spanish.
For example, "Take Time to Care about Diabetes," is a bilingual campaign to make women more aware of the danger of diabetes the National Diabetes Education Program spreads its message in Spanish ... and "Cuide Su Corazon," a new campaign aimed at Hispanic Americans, will help them better understand the need to control all aspects of their diabetes to help prevent heart disease.
Then there's "VERB: It's What You Do," a new media campaign designed to get our children off the couch and onto the playgrounds. VERB is reaching out to Hispanic youth across America.
And earlier today, we announced a new effort- "Con Confianza" - that's designed to provide information on our State Children's Health Insurance Program in Spanish and English. It is directed toward low-income Hispanic parents whose children may be eligible for health insurance benefits through SCHIP and Medicaid.
We're doing a great deal specifically for the Hispanic community. But we'll need your help, in your communities, to make these efforts a success ... and to keep going to reach everyone, including every Hispanic child in a low-income family.
Well, that's a lot of information. But the bottom line is that Hispanic Americans deserve every fair shot at the promise of the American Dream, and this Administration is committed to helping get it to them.
Hispanic Americans are an integral part of every aspect of American life. From the boardroom to the factory floor, from our bountiful farms to high-rise office buildings, Hispanic Americans are reaching for their own American Dreams every day.
Consider Roberto Goizueta, who was born in Havana in 1931. He attended Yale, but to learn English, he watched American movies over and over again.
He answered an ad in a Cuban newspaper and got a job with Coca-Cola. Then, when Fidel Castro seized power, he fled with his family to the United States.
Over two decades, he rose to become CEO of Coke in 1981. He coined one of the most memorable phrases in the history of advertising - "Coke is it!" - and by the time of his death in 1997, he had presided over the greatest resurgence of any company in modern history. In fact, over a 16-year period, Coca-Cola shareholders increased their value by more than 7,100 percent - the greatest return on investment of any company, ever.
Roberto Goizueta once said something that captures my philosophy of management and of life. "The moment avoiding failure becomes your motivation, you're down the path of inactivity. You stumble only if you're moving."
My friends, we all stumble - but Roberto Goizueta was right: It's better to move forward, even knowing we will make mistakes, than waste away from sitting and doing nothing because we fear failure.
And then there's the astonishing heroism of men and women like Fernando Luis Garcia, a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was in September 1952 that Private First Class Garcia, a Marine fighting in Korea, threw himself on a hand-grenade to save the life of a comrade.
In his Medal of Honor citation, we read these words: "His great personal valor and cool decision in the face of almost certain death sustain and enhance the finest traditions of the U.S. Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country."
My friends, Private First Class Garcia gave his life to save not only another soldier. He also gave his life for freedom. In a very profound way, he gave his life for America.
We are humbled by his sacrifice. We are inspired by his example. And we are grateful that so many other Americans of every heritage are even now defending our liberty and security in countries like Afghanistan.
It's on their behalf that we must redouble our efforts to extend a higher quality of life to Hispanic Americans and to all Americans.
Thank you for all you do to create a better life for everyone and for letting me speak with you this afternoon.