There is a disproportionate rate of inadequate health insurance coverage among the Hispanic/Latino population, according to the Commonwealth Fund.
While insurance coverage has significantly improved among Hispanic/Latino adults in the U.S. since the Affordable Care Act went into effect, inadequate coverage among the population remains.
“As a primary care physician, I regularly have patients for whom a necessary medication or a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure is out of reach because of cost,” wrote Joseph R. Betancourt, president, The Commonwealth Fund, in the blog post. “Often, I’ll fight the good fight on prior approvals, or do the best I can to find alternatives, but the outcomes are frequently less than ideal. In some cases, situations evolve from easily manageable to a matter of life or death. What’s more, the United States spends more on health care than any other high-income nation, yet we have the least to show for it—lower life expectancy, higher maternal and infant mortality, more chronic disease and disparities than our peers. Undoubtedly uninsurance, underinsurance, and affordability challenges are major root causes of this painful difference.”
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The Hispanic/Latino population experiences these barriers to health care at a disproportionate rate. Recent survey data from the Commonwealth Fund 2024 Biennial Health Insurance Survey revealed that more than half (55 percent) of Hispanic/Latino adults are inadequately insured, which the Commonwealth Fund defined as not having health insurance (or going without it for some amount of time in the past year) or being underinsured, meaning they have insurance, but their out-of-pocket health care costs are so high relative to their income that they can’t always afford the care they need.
Additional insights include:
- More than half of Hispanic/Latino adults (52 percent) said they experienced problems getting health care due to cost, including not being able to fill a prescription (28 percent); skipping a recommended test, treatment, or follow-up (37 percent); not visiting a doctor or clinic despite having a medical problem (39 percent); or not getting needed specialist care (33 percent).
- Thirty-nine percent of Hispanic/Latino adults who have delayed or skipped care said it led to worsening of their health problems, with rates higher among adults with a lower income level (42 percent) and poorer health status (43 percent).
- Thirty percent of Hispanic/Latino adults said they were paying off medical or dental debt. When asked how the debt impacted their lives, many said it caused them anxiety or worry (76 percent); to cut back on basic necessities such as food, heat, or rent (42 percent); to use up all or part of their savings (37 percent); to delay or skip needed care or medications (32 percent); a lower credit rating (25 percent); or to the need to get another job or work more hours (22 percent).