private insurance for... Rep. Barbara Lee discusses US senate race...

to come from state funds, and the costs could vary widely.

For instance, Colorado enrolled 10,000 such immigrants into a new insurance program designed solely for them at a cost of $57.8 million in state funds, said Adam Fox, deputy director of the Colorado Consumer Health Initiative. The program covered the full cost of insurance for enrollees.

In Washington state, immigrants who lack legal status can take advantage of a state fund next year to help all income-eligible state residents pay for insurance, said Michael Marchand, chief marketing officer for the Washington Health Benefit Exchange. State lawmakers have added $5 million to the fund for immigrants without legal authorization.

“It would serve as an incentive for additional undocumented immigration into our country,” said Sally Pipes, president and CEO of the Pacific Research Institute, a think tank that advocated against Medi-Cal expansion to immigrants without legal standing. “And put taxpayers on the hook for additional government health care costs and the inevitable higher tax bills to pay for them.”

California officials have previously considered allowing all immigrants to buy insurance from its state-run program before, submitting a request to the federal government in 2016. But the state rescinded its application after President Donald Trump took office, given his anti-immigration rhetoric and policies. The Biden administration in December approved an exception to federal law for Washington state — a game changer in the eyes of immigration advocates, said Rachel Linn Gish, a spokesperson for Health Access.

“Seeing what other states have done and the waivers that are happening under Biden, it makes a huge difference in our approach,” she said.

But even if lawmakers pass a plan to open California’s insurance marketplace to all immigrants regardless of status, advocates said the state will have to wait until Jan. 1, 2024, to ask the federal government for permission, and it could take half a year or longer to get a response.

That means it could be years before Becerril can get coverage. Instead, she’s preparing for the worst.

“I’m paying for funeral coverage,” she said. “It’s more economical than paying the health coverage premium.”

(Rachel Bluth/Kaiser Health News)

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

PAGE 1 well, when does making change go out of style?” Lee asks in the campaign announcement video released on Tuesday, Feb. 21.

Among the first of many community meetings, Lee met with the Asian American and Pacific Islander community (AAPI) in Los Angeles on Thursday, Feb. 23 to discuss her legislative history, mobilizing young voters, the issues most pressing to Californians, and the heart of her progressive credo.

“A progressive, like Barbara Lee, is not just going to put BandAids on solutions,” Lee told the Asian Journal at the community gathering hosted at The Noypitz in Little Tokyo. “You gotta deal with systemic change. You gotta shake things up and change the rules of the game because the rules, oftentimes, were barriers for marginalized people.”

As a member of Congress, Lee said that the issues top of mind for her include housing the unsheltered, equitable education, affordable childcare, affordable health care, global peace and security, eliminating poverty, and holding corporate polluters accountable.

But as someone with more progressive values, she said she wants to take it further and challenge the conventions and systems that historically shut people out. As a Washington mainstay, Lee said her career was always about reconfiguring power structures.

“I know that people aren’t that concerned with labels, but it’s the context of what I’ve been working on. I’ve challenged the systems: corporate systems and systems of funding that are inadequate and discriminatory — systems and structures that have to be dismantled and disrupted so that you can let people in,” Lee shared.

Born in El Paso, Texas but raised in California, Lee’s mission to systemic change began when she was a cheerleader at San Fernando High School in Pacoima. After facing barriers that hindered Black girls to join the school’s cheerleading squad, Lee successfully worked with the local NAACP group to integrate the team, making recruitment equitable for people of color.

By the time Lee was 20 years old, she was a single mother living on public assistance and earned a Master of Social Work from UC Berkeley — all while founding a community organization that provides mental health resources for the East Bay. She then went on to become and intern and then chief of staff to Congressman Ron Dellums, and in 1990, she was elected to California’s State Assembly.

Since 1998, Lee has served California in the House of Representatives, overseeing the now-12th district that covers Oakland and most of the northern part of Alameda County.

In the early 2000s, the congresswoman made waves by being the only member of Congress to vote against thenPresident George W. Bush’s authorization to use military force following 9/11, calling it “a blank check” to exercise “overly broad powers” that disregard the “nation’s long-term foreign policy, economic, and national security interests, and without a time limit.”

As a congresswoman, Lee has always voted to cut the skyrocketing national defense budget, a “way excessive $840 billion,” she told the Asian Journal.

“Every year I vote against that, so I’ve offered amendments to cut it by 10%,” Lee explained. “And I’ve been doing that because I think it’s obscene. We need the resources for schools.”

Amid Republicans currently eyeing a $25 billion cut to the U.S. Department of Education, Lee called on Democrats to mobilize and work to divert defense funds back into public schools, but she knows it’s an uphill battle.

“We couldn’t even get Democrats to vote for that. Defense contractors are smart because they cite their businesses in members’ districts where they’ve created jobs,” she said.

“But it’s the military-industrial complex, so people have to start calling on Democrats to say cut that budget. It’s excessive and we’re never going to be able to make education equal for Black, brown, and poor children until we deal with where the real resources are — and that’s defense.”

In addition to her staunchly anti-war views, Lee was known across Washington as a trailblazer on several progressive concerns before they became mainstream among Democrats, including LGBTQ+ equality, women’s rights, reproductive rights, and eliminating poverty.

Lee’s announcement comes after other notable Democrats — Reps Adam Schiff (D-Los Angeles) and Katie Porter (D-Orange County) — announced their campaigns to take over Feinstein’s seat. If elected, Lee would be the third Black woman elected to the U.S. Senate, after Carolyn Mosely Brown and Kamala Harris.

Each candidate is politically formidable in their own right; but, it’s Lee’s background, progressive ideals, and track record that give her a specific edge.

In her conversation with the Asian Journal, Lee said that her campaign represents the California she’s seen, not just her long political career, but since she was a child: a state that celebrates its diversity and can overcome seemingly immovable bigotry and tragedy.

“It’s about hope and optimism, and I’m continuing to talk to people about being empowered and engaged, because so many people, after COVID and all the MAGA stuff, feel despondent. They feel down but they can make a difference,” Lee said.

She continued, “I want to encourage people not to give up because as a Black woman, can you imagine what would have happened? If you can get people to really believe and know that they have a voice, they, too, can work to make this country better.”

(Klarize Medenilla/AJPress)

Dementia care programs help...

PAGE 3

A study commissioned by the association estimates that implementing a comprehensive care dementia model could save Medicare and Medicaid $21 billion over 10 years, largely by reducing patients’ use of intensive health care services.

Several challenges await, even if Medicare experiments with ways to support comprehensive dementia care. There aren’t enough health care professionals trained in dementia care, especially in rural areas and lowincome urban areas. Moving programs into clinical settings, including primary care practices and medical clinics, may be challenging given the extent of dementia patients’ needs. And training needs for program staff members are significant.

Even if families receive some assistance, they may not be able to afford necessary help in the home or other services such as adult day care. And many families coping with dementia may remain at a loss to find help.

To address that, the Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging later this year plans to publish an online consumer directory of evidencebased programs for dementia caregivers. For the first time, people will be able to search, by ZIP code, for assistance available near them. “We want to get the word out to caregivers that help is available,” said David Bass, a senior vice president at the Benjamin Rose Institute who’s leading that effort.

Generally, programs for dementia caregivers are financed by grants or government funding and free to families. Often, they’re available through Area Agencies on Aging — organizations that families should consult if they’re looking for help. Some examples: Savvy Caregiver, delivered over six weeks to small groups in person or over Zoom. Each week, a group leader (often a social worker) gives a minilecture, discusses useful strategies, and guides group members through exercises designed to help them manage issues associated with dementia.

Now offered in 20 states, Savvy Caregiver recently introduced an online, seven-session version of the program that caregivers can follow on their schedule.

REACH Community, a streamlined version of a program recommended in the 2021 National Academy of Sciences report. In four hourlong sessions in person or over the phone, a coach teaches caregivers about dementia, problem-solving strategies, and managing symptoms, moods, stress, and safety. A similar program, REACH VA, is available across the country through the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In up to eight in-home sessions over four months, an occupational therapist assesses the interests, functional abilities, and home environment of a person living with dementia. Activities that can keep the individual meaningfully engaged are suggested, along with advice on how to carry them out and tips for simplifying the activities as dementia progresses. The program is being rolled out across health care settings in Australia and is being reviewed as a possible component of geriatric home-based care by the VA, Gitlin said.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.