By Krissah Thompson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, November 12, 2009  
Effort centers on ensuring reform doesn't shortchange immigrants
After trying to carefully balance their interests in health-care reform and immigration, the nation's Hispanic lawmakers and largest advocacy groups are scrambling to develop a strategy to counter what they see as efforts to shortchange immigrants in health bills on Capitol Hill. They had tried to keep the two issues apart, concerned, they said, that immigration would distract from health care. But other lawmakers and activists have inserted the immigration issue into the middle of the health-care debate, causing a collision between what Hispanic leaders call their two top policy priorities.

Elena Rios   President & CEO, National Hispanic Medical Association
Ms. Rios represents Hispanic physicians across the United States. She has lectured and published articles, received number awards from her peers and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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