We have an urgent request. Health care reform for AAPIs is at risk. We can't let the new leadership in Congress return us to the days when insurance companies were free to do whatever they want with no accountability, such as denying coverage to children with asthma and other pre-existing conditions, or doubling premiums, and imposing higher costs on families and small businesses.
 A House vote to repeal health care reform is scheduled for TODAY, Wednesday, January 19th. Why health care reform is important to Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) community 
AAPI communities are already benefiting from provisions of the healthcare reform that prioritize preventive care for AAPI communities who have suffered from disparities in vaccinations, cancer screenings and infant mortality rates. While one in five AAPIs are currently uninsured, the bill will provide all Americans stable, affordable care and the freedom to make better decisions about their families and how best to provide them care.

In partnership with Asian Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), APAP encourages you to learn more about the impacts of healthcare reform on the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community and to urge your Representatives to protect health care reform!

Click here to send a letter to your Representative!

Call your Representatives! To call your Representative, follow these simple steps:

1. Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121. It's best to call in the morning because of different time zones between your state and Washington, D.C.

2. When the switchboard operators answers, ask to be connected to the office of your Representative. If you want to speak with your Representative's office, you'll need to give the operator your zip code.

3. The operator will then connect you to your Representative's office.

Sample Script:

As your constituent and a member of Asian Pacific Americans for Progress (APAP), I believe that health care reform is important to our communities. One in five Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders are uninsured and even more are underinsured. Health care reform will bring health coverage to at least 30 million people in the United States. Please vote no on H.R.2 and reject any efforts to repeal health care reform!

Take Action on Facebook to Protect Health Care Reform!

Follow these instructions to take action using Facebook:

1. Find your Representative at www.house.gov by entering your zip code into the "Find Your Representative" widget at the top of the page on the left hand side. When the search results page loads, pay attention to your Representative's name and your State and district number.

2. Visit www.govsm.com to find your Representative's Facebook and Twitter information. The Representatives are in alphabetical order by state and listed by district number, so scroll down to your state and look for your Representative by district number.

3. If your Representative has a Facebook page, click on the Facebook icon to visit the page. Login to your Facebook account and "like" your Representative's fan page.

4. Post this message below on your Representative's fan page wall: As your constituent, I believe that health care reform is important to our communities. One in five Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders are uninsured and even more are underinsured. Health Care reform will bring affordable health coverage to at least 30 million people in the United States. Please reject efforts to repeal health care reform!

Follow these instructions to take action using Twitter:

1. Visit www.tweetcongress.org to find your Representative's Twitter handle.
2. Scroll to the bottom of the page to the "Find your Representative" widget on the left hand side.
3. Enter your zip code and click "enter."
4. Your Representative's Twitter handle should be listed (@name) below the name(s). Additional information including numbers of followers, friends and updates can be found there as well.
5. Copy or remember the twitter handle (@name) of your Representative.
6. Go to www.twitter.com and log into your account.
7. Tweet your Representative!

Important: Please use the hashtags #HCR and #protectHCR in your message. Using hashtags helps to aggregate data on what people are talking about on Twitter.  You can also include hashtags for your city and state as well, such as #SF (San Francisco), #BayArea (San Francisco Bay Area), and #CA (California).

Below are some examples of tweets:

1. @maziehirono #HCR will bring affordable coverage to 30 million more, including AAs & NHPIs in #HI who are uninsured. Vote to #protectHCR
2. @NancyPelosi #HCR gives children, families & communities in #SF #CA the freedom from worrying about being denied coverage. #protectHCR
3. @cbrangel Repealing #HCR will increase our deficit and leave those in #NYC #NY paying more for less. Please vote to #protectHCR

Important: You are only allowed to use 140 characters in a tweet. So the message may need to be changed depending on the length of the username, the hashtag for your city and state, and other factors.