Big Win for Better Data for All: NY Governor Kathy Hochul Signs AA and NH/PI Data Disaggregation Bill into Law!

Guest post by Medha Ghosh, Health Policy Coordinator, Coalition for Asian American Children and Families

On December 23, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul signed the NYS Bill S6639/A6896 on Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AA and NH/PI) data disaggregation into law. 

This law mandates that all State agencies, departments, boards, and commissions that already collect demographic data must now collect data on the top ten most populous AA ethnic groups and specific NH/PI ethnic groups of New York State along with data on languages spoken.  The law also specifies that such government entities must release such data to the public on an annual basis. This huge victory in the fight for better data for all was only made possible by over ten years of persistent advocacy by CACF and CACF’s members and partners!   

Over the past two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the distinctive struggles faced by our AA and NH/PI communities in New York. While State and City public health data failed to show the disparities experienced by these communities, independent studies showed how Chinese Americans had the highest rates of COVID-related death and South Asian Americans the highest rates of COVID-related hospitalization in New York City. Disaggregated data will allow state officials and community organizations to better serve all communities through this ongoing public health emergency and beyond.

You can read more about the bill here and here.

If you’re like any normal, warm-blooded American, or at least one who subscribes to a health policy blog, you probably really like charts and graphs and numbers. Well, it turns out you’re in luck!

The US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) has just launched a new Health System Measurement Project website which tracks government data on various different health system indicators nationwide. It is intended to make it easier for regular folks like you and me to monitor and measure how the nation’s health care system is performing. The website includes trend data as well as more specific cuts broken out by demographics like age, sex, income level, and insurance coverage status.

It is a fantastically informative and a surprisingly fun tool to play with.  For example, did you know that in 2001, the mean total premium for employer-sponsored insurance for a family in New York was $7,090, but by 2010 it had more than doubled to $14,730? The same goes for single coverage.  In 2001 the mean cost for employer-sponsored insurance for a single person was $2,956.  By 2010, the cost had reached $5,220.

Um, health reform? Yes, please!

You can find this and a lot of other really great data by visiting the Health System Measurement Project at: https://healthmeasures.aspe.hhs.gov/

And, for the true nerds out there, you can also click here to read the HHS’s press release announcing the new website.