Mira Dani and Nataliyah Tahir, students at the UNLV School of Medicine, are spearheading an important initiative to support Senate Bill (SB) 265, which aims to improve the way health data is collected concerning individuals who self-identify as Asian. The bill, which is non-partisan and sponsored by Republican Senator Lori Rogich and Democratic Assemblyman Duy Nguyen, seeks to address disparities in health data collection, particularly for South-Asian communities.

Currently, health data related to race and ethnicity often lumps individuals from various Asian backgrounds into a broad category, which can mask important health disparities and lead to policies that fail to meet the specific needs of diverse subgroups. SB 265, proposed by Tahir, calls for more precise data collection that would better reflect the experiences of South-Asian individuals in the state. 

Despite no formal hearings being scheduled yet, Dani and Tahir are urging community members to take action by submitting public comments in support of SB 265. This initiative comes at a time when the South-Asian community has been calling for greater recognition and representation in data collection, a change that could have a profound impact on healthcare policies at both the state and national levels. Interested individuals can make their voices heard by writing to their elected representatives, urging them to support the bill. 

Existing law regulates the collection of certain personal information by the State and local governmental agencies that collect information from persons related to their race or ethnicity.  This bill, with certain exceptions, prescribes requirements for the collection and tabulation by a state or local governmental agency, directly or by contract, of information concerning the race or ethnicity of persons in this State who self-identify as Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

The proposed bill mandates that such a governmental agency use separate categories for the collection and tabulation of the information, including: (1) for the category of persons who self-identify as Asian, an option to self-identify as Chinese, Vietnamese, Asian Indian, Korean, Filipino or Japanese or to specify another subcategory; and (2) for the category of persons who self-identify as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, an option to self-identify as Native Hawaiian, Samoan, Chamorro, Tongan, Fijian or Marshallese or to specify another subcategory. Additionally, section 2 requires that a governmental agency ensure that any personally identifiable information in the information collected by the governmental agency concerning the race or ethnicity of persons in this State who self-identify as Asian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander be kept confidential.

With certain exceptions, section 2 also requires that the governmental agency: (1) make such information collected by the governmental agency available to the public by publishing the information on its Internet website; and (2) include such information in any demographic report concerning the race or ethnicity of persons in this State that is published by the governmental agency. Finally, section 2 prohibits the governmental agency from denying services or assistance to a person who fails or refuses to provide such information.