Healthcare
The National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators (NHCSL) considers the issue of health and wellness as one of its key policy priorities. NHCSL is leading a strategic effort to inform its Hispanic state legislators about current trends, newly released reports and studies, and afford them with the opportunity to engage with national health experts about various issues related to childhood obesity, chronic disease, mental health and environmental health.
The Healthcare Task Force has historically evaluated and approved the greatest number of resolutions of any NHCSL task force.
Task Force Leadership 2024-2025
Task Force Priorities
It covers all issues related to:
- Health
- Healthy lifestyles
- Nutrition in general
- Obesity
- Prescription drugs
- Health insurance
- Health insurance portability
- Access to healthcare
- Health disparities
- Preventive care
- Mental health
- Challenges to access to disadvantaged persons
- Regulation of the health professions
- Regulation of hospitals and other healthcare providers
May share issues like medical tourism and regulation of restaurants with the Business and Economic Development Task Force.
May share issues like marijuana legalization or decriminalization (because of medical marijuana) with the Law and Criminal Justice Task Force.
Shares issues like nutrition in schools and vaccinations with the Education Task Force.
Shares issues like immigrant healthcare with the Immigration Task Force.
Recent Resolutions
Obesity and Medicaid:
Removing Barriers for Our Most Vulnerable Populations
Educating and Easing the Burden of Period Poverty
Reforming the Section 340B Drug Affordability Program to Ensure its Rebates Accompany the Patient
Automatic Enrollment and Streamlined Renewal in Medicaid
Support Affordable Healthcare and Medicaid for Dreamers
Safety in Dietary Supplements
Ensure Equitable Access to High Quality Care for Persons Living with Sickle Cell Disease
Improving Access to COVID-19 Treatment and Testing for Vulnerable Populations
Promoting Teledentistry and Teleorthodontics
Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Awareness
Coverage of Advanced Diagnostic Tests and Treatments for Alzheimer's Disease
Defending the Right to Abortion and Equal Access to Reproductive Healthcare
Recognizing the Importance of Precision Medicine
and Biomarker Testing
Raising Awareness about the Value of Self-Care
Improving Care of Atherosclerotic Disease
Raising Awareness about the Importance of Oral Healthcare
Encouraging HIV Detection and Ensuring Appropriate Treatments in Medicaid Recipients and the Uninsured
Recognizing the importance of convalescent plasma donations in the fight against COVID-19 and other diseases
Reducing Obesity, the Primary Comorbidity in the Fight against COVID-19
Equity Plan for Affordable Healthcare
Jointly Addressing Health Disparities in Response to COVID-19 and Other Potential Pandemics
Declaring Institutional Racism a Public Health Crisis
Call for States to Remove Non-Medical Vaccination Exemptions
Maternal Health and Morbidity
Prostate Cancer Awareness
Prevention of Deceptive Healthcare Lawsuit Advertisements
Support of State and Federal Policies that Increase Access to Curative Hepatitis C Treatments
Expanding Access to Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Via Healthy Food Financing Initiatives
Increasing Access to Life-saving Treatments and Devices to Combat Opioid-related Mortality and Dependency
Removing Barriers to Appropriately Safeguarded Value-Based Arrangements in Healthcare
Enhancing Competition in the Generic Pharmaceuticals Market
Improving Patient Affordability of Medicines
Resolution Urging Congress and the Executive Branch to Address Puerto Rico's Medicaid Cliff
Support of State and Federal Policies to Improve Medication Adherence
Meningococcal Disease Awareness
Adult Vaccine Preventable Disease Awareness and Improvement Month
Insurer Practices Impacting Healthcare Access
Accelerating Medical Innovation to Save American Lives, Reduce Burden on Healthcare, Improve the Economy and Restore America's Leadership in Biomedical Research
A Resolution to Encourage the Clinical Utilization of Opioid Analgesic Drug Products with Formulations that Include FDA-Approved Deterrent Characteristics
A Resolution Using the Citizen's Stamp Advisory Committee to Issue a Postage Stamp Honoring the Borinqueneers, the Only Hispanic-Segregated Unit in the United States Military History
A Resolution to Increase Public Awareness & Education on Participating in Clinical Trials
Addressing Excessive Out-of-Pocket Costs for Patients
Ensuring Access to State Level Publicly Funded Real World Datasets to All Qualified Researchers
Requesting the United States Department of Health and Human Services to Recommend any Changes to Federal Law that May Be Indicated for the Fostering of Increased Opportunities for Athletic, Creative, Social and Intellectual Activities for Children in Their Schools, Homes and Communities and for Investigating and Addressing the Deleterious Effects of Overmedication on Children in the Country
Improving Patient Care Through Medication Synchronization
Increasing Public Awareness of Risks of Nonvalvular Atrial Fibrillation
Addressing the Obesity Epidemic in America
Standardized and Electronic Prior Authorization
Preserving Patient Access to Care in Medicare and Medicare Part D
Essential Benefits: Ensuring That Every American Has Access to Vital Healthcare Treatments
Keeping Children with Diabetes Safe at School
Resolution Supporting the Efforts of Resident Commissioner to Urge the U.S. Department of Justice to Allocate the Necessary Resources to Combat Drug-Related Violence in Puerto Rico
Resolution on Urban Farming and Green Roofs
Resolution on Telemedicine
Resolution on Mental Health and Addiction Services
Resolution on Re-authorization of Federal Funding for Nutrition and Anti-Hunger Programs
Promoting Unrestricted Patient Access to Specialty Drugs
Eliminating Restriction and Barriers to Health Care Access and Maintaining Independent Oversight
To Oppose Any Effort to Reduce the Federal Budget Deficit at the Expense of Patients and Seniors Who Rely on the Medicare and Medicare Part D Programs for Access to Health Care
To Encourage School Systems To Have Epinephrine Readily Available For Treating Anaphylactic Reactions
Calling for the Adoption of Health Information Technology, E-Prescribing and Electronic Health Records
To Support the Passage of H.R. 3100, the Food Desert Oasis Act of 2009 and Other Action to Address the Nation's Food Deserts
To Reduce Health Disparities Affecting HIV/AIDS
Epilepsy Patient Prescription Drug Safety
Protecting and Improving Health and Access to Healthcare and Prescription Medicines for Low and Modest-income Individuals
National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators Resolution Calls for Transparency for Patients in Prescription Drug Care
National Hispanic Caucus Of State Legislators Support A Resolution Calling For A New Bottom Line In Reducing The Harms Of Drug Abuse
National Hispanic Caucus Of State Legislators (NHCSL) Supports A Resolution To End Cervical Cancer In Our Lifetime
NBCSL and NHCSL Urge Congress to Appropriate $14 million to Strengthen Support of the Sickle Cell Treatment Act and the Community Outreach Demonstration Project
