About Us
Serving the community for 50 years!
The JACL Health Benefits Trust was originally set up to help Japanese Americans who couldn’t buy health insurance due to discrimination, and we continue the mission of providing quality health insurance to the community. With the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the members overwhelmingly voted to approve amendments to the Trust Agreement, allowing the Trust to continue operations by forming JA Health Benefits FPC (dba JA Health Insurance Services), a flexible purpose corporation.
The “JA” in our name reflects our mission to support the health insurance needs of the Japanese American community, but also the broader Asian American community. “FPC” stands for Flexible Purpose Corporation, which allows us to operate within the new health insurance laws as a philanthropic entity. FPC’s bridge the gap between traditional for-profit entities, and non-profit entities. As an FPC we can give money back to the community by supporting programs that benefit the Japanese-American community and the broader Asian American community. Visit the JA Community Foundation website to learn more about the organizations and projects we support.
There is no fee for our services. All quotes are identical to direct insurance company quotes. By going through our organization we can advocate on your behalf and provide customer service for as long as you have the plan. Our individual agents do not earn commissions; rather, our organization is paid commission by the insurance companies.
Due to California Department of Insurance guidelines, JA Health Benefits FPC transacts all business under the name JA Health Insurance Services.
JA Community Foundation is the 501c3 philanthropic arm of our organization. Our mission is to identify and invest in solutions that meet the needs, interests and concerns of the Japanese American and broader Asian American communities. Learn more about the Foundation at jagives.org
Our Staff
Stephen Divizich
Hitomi Solberg
Tomoko Okumura
Meet the Board of Trustees & Board of Directors
Board of Trustees
JA Health Benefits Trust
President of California State University East Bay
Kevin Nagata, Vice Chair
Emergency Coordinator at California’s Office of Emergency Services, Retired
Edward Oda, Treasurer/Secretary
Systems Analyst at Chevron Corporation, Retired
James Oshima, Trustee
Director of Tax at ARYZTA North America
Doug Urata, Trustee
Senior Project Manager at Pacific Life
Board of Directors
JA Health Benefits FPC / JA Health Insurance Services
Doug Urata, Chair
Senior Project Manager at Pacific Life
Carol Nishita, Vice Chair
Director of Administration of East Bay Municipal Utility District, Retired
James Oshima, Chief Financial Officer
Director of Tax at ARYZTA North America
Peter Nakaso, Director
Engineering Manager Cloud Services, Siemens
Carole Yamakoshi, Director
Manager of Clinical Support and Enterprise Information Systems at Cedars-Sinai Hospital
Gayle M. Kono, Director
Trial Attorney, Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company