Rendr Joins Lawmakers in Urging Legislative Action to Address Diabetes Disparities in AAPI Communities

On May 23, Rendr joined New York State Senator John Liu, Assemblymember Ron Kim, and other healthcare professionals in calling for legislations to address the high rate of undiagnosed diabetes within AAPI populations.

Senator Liu introduced the bipartisan legislative bill S634B/A1206B, which lowers the Body Mass Index (BMI) threshold from 25 to 23 for mandated insurance coverage for prediabetes and diabetes screenings for Asian Americans. Under the bill, screenings for Asian Americans with a BMI of 23 would be fully covered, eliminating deductibles, copays, coinsurance, and other out-of-pocket costs.

“This bill responds to a nationwide effort to raise awareness about the fact that over half of Asian Americans with Type 2 diabetes remain undiagnosed,” said Senator Liu.

He emphasized that while a BMI of 25 is typically used as the national benchmark for diabetes screening, research shows that Asian Americans face increased diabetes risk even with a BMI as low as 23. Leading institutions—including the American Diabetes Association, the National Institutes of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—have acknowledged this increased risk. However, most insurance plans still do not cover screening for patients within this BMI range, leaving many in the AAPI community undiagnosed and at heightened risk.

Assemblymember Ron Kim stressed the importance of representation in healthcare policy: “Underserved communities often face unique medical challenges that require data-driven, culturally informed approaches. Medical studies have shown that Asian individuals are at higher risk for diabetes than the general population, even at the same BMI.”

John Hui, Chief Development Officer of Rendr, stated: “As the largest medical group in the Chinese community, we are committed to advancing value-based care (VBC) by prioritizing chronic disease prevention and early detection. This bill is an important step forward in recognizing the unique health risks faced by Asian Americans and ensuring they receive timely diabetes screenings. We applaud Senator John Liu and Assemblymember Ron Kim’s efforts to expand coverage for preventive care, which aligns with our mission to improve patients' health outcomes, reduce avoidable hospital visits, and lower healthcare costs.”

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