The New York State AAPI Summit was held on May 9th in Albany, the capital of New York State. Democratic New York State Assemblyman Ron Kim presided over a seminar on Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) health issues, focusing on factors that affect health disparities in the AAPI community. The seminar discussed different rates of hepatitis B, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and mental illnesses among Asian Americans, and participants discussed relevant legislation.
During the meeting, Assemblyman Ron Kim emphasized the importance of segregating healthcare data for AAPI patients from other ethnic groups, enabling legislators to have the necessary information when passing bills to serve the community and improve healthcare. Citing his recent legislation as an example, Kim proposed that health insurance companies provide more diabetes screenings for the AAPI community, as certain AAPI communities have higher rates of diabetes screenings compared to other ethnic groups.
This year’s AAPI Summit was organized by the co-chairs of the State Assembly’s “Asian Pacific American Task Force,” Assemblymembers Grace Lee and Zohran Mamdani. The “Asian Pacific American Task Force,” co-founded by Ron Kim and former Assemblywoman Yuh-Line Niou in 2017, aims to strengthen the representation of AAPI interests in the State Assembly.
Assemblyman Ron Kim stated, “The first step that we, as legislators, must take is to translate the data we have into tangible action plans. From healthcare professionals, community organizers to the strong lineup of AAPI legislators today, we can repair the broken healthcare system and provide better health outcomes through sound policies.”
Attendees at the conference included New York State Assemblyman William Colton, Lily Fan, the first Chinese-American director of the New York State Liquor Authority, representatives from the Chinese American Independent Practice Association (CAIPA), and the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center.