State programs are helping shrink racial and ethnic gaps for uninsured in CA, but inequities remain
“Sonya Vasquez from Community Health Councils said the fact that these gaps still exist is ‘appalling.’
‘At the end of the day, no one’s race or ethnicity should be a reason why they can’t get coverage. Their citizenship status shouldn’t be a reason why they can’t get coverage,’ Vasquez said.
As someone who helps many families get health insurance coverage, Larissa Bobadilla said her hope is also universal health coverage. But in the meantime, she said her work in the last 15 years as a community health navigator is rewarding not just professionally, but personally.
She said a few families she’s helped for years have come to her after losing a family member. One couple even asked Bobadilla’s permission to name her daughter after her.
‘It’s just like a connection between the community and the person who I am,” she said. “I am very happy to be working with this role for many years, because I am helping a lot of people.'”