Strategic Data and Research Opportunities on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Health through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

This paper summarizes the federal requirements under Section 4302(a) of the Affordable Care Act (ACA); the opportunities for improving data collection to address health disparities affecting Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders; the provision’s limitations; and how to address these limitations. Our recommendations for ACA Section 4302(a) implementation include: (1) adhering to the 2009 Institute of Medicine’s data standards on race, ethnicity, and primary language; (2) requiring federally-supported national surveys, health care providers, and publicly-administered health programs at the point of care and enrollment to comply with Section 4302 requirements; (3) ensuring compliance with Title VI and ACA Section 1557 non-discrimination requirements by providing translated health surveys and increasing language assistance capacity; and (4) engaging communities in the design of race, ethnicity, and language data to ensure community relevance