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.

Board of Directors

Dr. Leroy Morishita

Doug Urata

Edward Oda

James Oshima

Carole Yamakoshi

Carol Nishita

Peter Nakaso

Gayle M. Kono

Gregory Mukai