15 Years of the ACA: Advancing Health Equity for AANHPI Communities

As we mark the 15th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this panel explores the landmark law’s enduring impact on Asian American communities—and the work still ahead. The ACA dramatically expanded access to coverage, strengthened language access protections, and provided critical investments in community health centers and prevention. For many in Asian American communities, these reforms opened the door to care for the first time. Yet disparities persist. From gaps in disaggregated data to ongoing challenges around culturally and linguistically appropriate services, Asian American communities continue to face unique barriers to health equity. This panel brings together health policy experts, community leaders, and frontline providers to reflect on progress made under the ACA, share community-level successes, and identify emerging priorities for the next chapter—especially in the face of political uncertainty and state-level rollbacks.

Mia Ayer, MA

Policy Manager

Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF)

MODERATOR

Mia Ayer is a Policy Manager at the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum. She brings local and federal policy experience on issues including health equity, civil rights, housing, and governmental affairs. She previously served as Caucus Assistant for the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), where she amplified community-driven priorities, liaised with more than 80 congressional offices and White House staff, and prepared the introduction and communications plan of the Health Equity and Accountability Act of 2024, the landmark health equity bill of the Congressional Tri-Caucus. She also worked with Senate staff to prepare bicameral resolutions introduced by CAPAC Chair Rep. Judy Chu in the 118th Congress, including those commemorating Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Mental Health Day and AANHPI Heritage Month. She first joined CAPAC as an APAICS legislative fellow and is dedicated to ensuring that AANHPI communities and all communities of color are included in policy change. 

Prior to CAPAC, Mia was a D.C.-based fellow with the Urban Leaders Fellowship, where she engaged local stakeholders and advocated for affordable housing and community crisis response teams to the District of Columbia Council. She formerly managed nonprofit programs, congressional outreach, and communications. 

Mia was raised in the Piney Woods of rural Texas by her parents who left Japan and Canada to dedicate their careers to performing and teaching music. She holds a M.A. in social policy from The George Washington University and a B.A. with honors in anthropology and peace studies from the University of Notre Dame, where she played NCAA Division I golf.

Dr. Andrea Caracostis, MD, MPH

CEO

Asian American Health Coalition dba HOPE Clinic

Andrea Caracostis, MD, MPH is the CEO of the Asian American Health Coalition dba HOPE Clinic. She is a physician with a master’s in public health, biostatistics and epidemiology from Texas A&M and over 25 years’ experience in health care.

Dr. Caracostis has held the position of CEO since 2007. At that time, she directed a staff of five with a budget of $700,000. Under her leadership, HOPE Clinic has grown exponentially, becoming a model FQHC, serving everyone, specifically the uninsured, underinsured, and limited-English-proficient multicultural residents of Houston. Now a $30 million corporation, HOPE Clinic employs nearly 300, has expanded to five locations in Houston, and handles 180,000 patient visits annually. HOPE Clinic offers its services in 30 different languages, providing comprehensive primary, pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, vision, dental, nutrition, pharmacy, and behavioral health.

Dr. Caracostis has worked in the community health centers movement since 1998 providing direct care to patients and as administrative staff. Dr. Caracostis has long been recognized for her work in health care and is well known for her spirit of collaboration and partnership building.

Under her leadership, HOPE Clinic has received several awards for its quality of care and innovation, which have made HOPE Clinic a high performer and placed the clinic as one of the most diverse, innovative, and quality-driven clinics in the country.

Dr. Caracostis is a board member at various healthcare organizations, including the Texas Association of Community Health Centers, Community Health Choice, the Harris Health Strategic Fund, and is currently chairwoman of the Harris Health System Board of Directors.

She has been recognized for her vision, leadership, and innovation and voted as a top 20 CEO in Houston in 2019 and one of the most admired CEOs in 2021. Dr. Caracostis has been the principal investigator in several federal, state, and private grant awards and has published

several scientific and opinion articles.

Ronald Coleman-Baeza

Managing Policy Director

California Pan-Ethnic Health Network (CPEHN)

Ronald E. Coleman Baeza joined CPEHN in February 2021 as the Managing Director of Policy. He leads CPEHN’s legislative, budgetary, and administrative advocacy portfolio and manages our Policy Team.

Prior to joining CPEHN, Ronald was the Director of Policy and Legislative Advocacy at Health Access California representing California’s health care consumers in the State Capitol.

In 2018, Ronald also managed his own advocacy firm and lobbied on behalf of the ACLU of California, the California Low-Income Consumers Coalition (CLICC), and the California Street Vendors Campaign. Before going out on his own, Ronald was the Director of Government Affairs at the California Immigrant Policy Center for 7 years, where he led numerous legislative and budgetary campaigns to improve the lives of California’s immigrants and communities of color. Ronald was also the Legislative and Policy Director at both ACORN and the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), where he represented low-to-moderate income families on a wide range of economic justice and consumer protection issues. 

Ronald received his Juris Doctorate from Southern University Law Center, and his BA in Political Science from Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. He is originally from New Jersey, and a member of their State Bar.

Anthony E. Wright

Executive Director

Families USA

Anthony E. Wright (He, Him) is Families USA's Executive Director. Before joining the organization, he served 22 years as Executive Director of Health Access California, the statewide health care consumer advocacy coalition. Under Wright's leadership, Health Access California led state efforts to win patient protections, fight budget cuts, invest in the safety net, expand coverage, and advance equity and prevention.

He led California's coalition effort to help pass and later defend the Affordable Care Act, and for state policies to implement and improve the law to attain the biggest drop of the uninsured rate in the nation. He was responsible for numerous successful health care advocacy efforts topass critical health reforms—such as nation-leading laws to stop surprise medical bills, ensure timely access to care, stop hospitals overcharging, and expand Medicaid regardless of age, assets, or immigration status.

A consumer advocate and community organizer quoted widely in state and national media, Wright’s background also includes working for New Jersey Citizen Action, the Center for Media Education, The Nation magazine, and at the White House in Vice President Al Gore's office. Raised in the Bronx, he graduated from Amherst College magna cum laude in both English and Sociology.