"There is some data out there that's pretty indisputable that even when you account for incomes and levels of insurance...you're still seeing problems in the African American community and the Latino community, Native American communities, in terms of quality of care and outcomes...Part of what we should be doing is to think about...ways that we can close those gaps. And to the extent that that is reflected in this reform, I think that will ultimately save everybody money."

- President Barack Obama, White House Summit on Health Care

· IT'S ABOUT QUALITY: All healthcare is not created equal. Even when people from communities of color have similar health insurance and education, the actual quality of healthcare they receive is often poorer than their white counter-parts. As a result, they are much more likely to experience life-threatening complications and higher mortality rates from common chronic diseases.

· IT'S ABOUT ACCESS: As the famous cell phone commercial correctly asserts, "it's all about the network." A health insurance card is only as good as the network it's on, and too often, people of color in low-income communities find themselves without a signal. Healthcare reform must address equality issues by investing in the healthcare infrastructure to expand and improve provider networks, community health clinics, and hospitals in rural and urban communities serving minority and low-income populations.

· IT'S ABOUT DIVERSITY: The healthcare workforce lacks diversity at nearly every level of health care delivery, from the lab technician to the family doctor. Lack of language access, cultural competency, patient-provider miscommunication, stereotyping and prejudice have contributed to lower quality of care. Many states have seen tremendous shifts in racial demographics, yet the vast increases in people of color haven't been reflected in growth in healthcare workforce diversity. To eliminate disparities, we need a healthcare workforce that looks like America and that ensures language access for people whose first language is not English because clear communication between patient and provider is essential

· IT'S ABOUT SMART INVESTMENTS: A huge proportion of spending in healthcare is for the treatment of preventable chronic diseases, like hypertension, diabetes, and lung and heart disease, and especially their avoidable complications. A smart, sustainable healthcare system will invest in preventing these diseases, which disproportionately affect minorities, and in effectively managing these conditions to reduce expensive, painful and life-threatening complications, which also disproportionately affect minorities.

· IT'S ABOUT TIME! Putting off healthcare reform for another year isn't an option. Healthcare reform that works for ALL Americans must happen this year. We cant fix our economy if we don't fix our broken health care system. The healthcare system Americans deserve will deliver quality affordable health care to ALL no matter the color of their skin, the language they speak, economic status, or geographic location. The longer we wait, the worse it gets.