Hispanics and Health Care Reform

Last night, Univision national news featured an exclusive interview with President Obama on the economy which included thoughts on healthcare reform. Among the points emphasized by the President:  he said his proposal would provide increased access to quality health care coverage, include options for preventive care for immigrant workers who have legal status, and ultimately reduce healthcare costs for all Americans. But why is it so critical to our demographic?

While more than 47 million people in the United States are uninsured, access to health insurance and ongoing health services is a more serious problem in the Hispanic community. More than 34 percent of Latinos do not have health insurance and Latino immigrants, at 58 percent, are much more likely to go without medical coverage. Sadly enough, despite higher pregnancy rates, 11 percent of Latina mothers do not receive prenatal care during the critical first 3 months. Although most Americans access private health insurance through their employers, it is estimated that only 2 in 5 Hispanics are covered by employer‑sponsored insurance.

Meaningful health care reform in the Hispanic community will increase access to health services and lower out-of-pocket medical costs. Another essential component of health care reform is ensuring that health services provided are delivered in a culturally competent and linguistically appropriate way. Approximately 1 in 8 Hispanics report that their health care provider rarely explains their medical situations in a way they can understand. Legislation that was recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, the America’s Affordable Health Choices Act (H.R. 3200), includes languages that would call for healthcare professional to receive linguistic and cultural training and also includes provisions to boost scholarship opportunities for disadvantaged students in the health profession.

Latino leaders such as Representative Xavier Becerra (D-CA), Vice‑Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, has stated that “no community is less insured today in this country than the Latino community. So we absolutely need to reform our health care system.” We can only agree that inaction of meaningful health care reform brings serious consequences to the well‑being of the future of the Hispanic community in the United States.  As Congress moves forward with solutions to fix our broken health care system, it is important that our elected officials hear from the Hispanic community and we communicate with them the importance of meaningful reform for all Americans.