HD38 - Access to Health Care for African Americans in Virginia


Executive Summary:
House Joint Resolution (HJR) 648 of the 1999 Session of the General Assembly requested the Virginia Department of Health and other health related entities to co-sponsor a forum on African-American health care access issues. This legislation results from the recommendations of Senate Joint Resolution 355 (1997), a study of the health status of African-Americans living in the Commonwealth. The forum would address the following issues:

1. Providing care in public and private settings;

2. Enrollment in public and private health insurance plans;

3. Recruitment and retention of physicians;

4. Development of culturally competent health care services;

5. Managed Care and African-American access to health care;

6. Public and Private Partnerships to increase access to health care services;

7. Health issues for African-American families.

A copy of HJR 648 is provided at Appendix A.