New Survey Finds Asian-Americans Oppose ACA Immediate Repeal

Cleveland, OH – According to a new survey of Asian American’s opinions in Ohio on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) conducted by the AAPI Civic Engagement Network of Ohio, 71 percent of Asian Americans do not support immediate repeal of the current law.

The survey approached over 33,000 Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) in the state of Ohio during the month of January following the inauguration of President Trump. Seventy-one percent of AAPIs support ACA in its current form without repeal, while 29 percent responded opposition to the law and want to preserve it with improvements.

While Americans watch Congress push legislation for repeal, few Asian Americans report being negatively impacted the the law. In fact, navigator sites, like Asian Services In Action, Inc. (ASIA), hear stories from Asian Americans like Fangyu Wu, who benefited from the ACA.

As her ex-husband’s business fell apart, so did Fangyu’s Wu’s marriage. Suddenly, she was a divorced single mother with four children to care for and no affordable health insurance. Wu heard of the Affordable Care Act and was able to attain medical coverage she could afford. Now she and her children – two of whom are on the spectrum of autism – have healthcare security as she works to succeed in her new career as a real estate agent. At an ASIA leadership roundtable in Toledo, Wu learned of how she can help others who speak Limited English understand the ACA. Since then, she has found a new purpose in helping others who are not able to afford health insurance.

“Because of the subsidy, I can afford the health insurance I need to cover my family,” Fangyu said. “It has helped me a lot. Now I am able to focus on being a mom, building my business, and enjoying my new beginning.”

In 2014, ASIA created the Ohio ACA Network, a group of various navigator sites across the state to assist AAPIs with healthcare and enrollment. In total, the ACA network has assisted 1,050 AAPIs with enrollment into the marketplace, 2,388 with enrollment into Medicaid, and over 2,900 of those were Limited English Proficient (LEP) primarily from the Chinese, Burmese, KaRen, Thai, Mon, French, Nepali, Vietnamese, Persian, Cambodian and Hmong communities.

“It is clear that the Asian American communities in Ohio benefit from ACA,” said Michael Byun, CEO of Asian Services In Action, Inc. “The recent survey conducted by the AAPI Civic Engagement Network further proves that.”

With only a few weeks before the Senate reviews ACA repeal for consideration and vote, we are asking the community to call Senator Rob Portman to voice our concerns ahead of the bill going to the Senate, and call Governor John Kasich to raise concerns to our Congressional delegation about the impact on Medicaid expansion. ASIA has created scripts and phone numbers to walk your through the process at www.asiaohio.org/acaworks.