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According to the National Hispanic Medical Association (NHMA), Latinos have seen the biggest benefit from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as they have had the largest decrease in uninsured rates of any racial or ethnic group in the country. The rate, according to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), fell from 41.8% to 30.5% from October 2014 to February 2016. However, more work still needs to be done as there is still a large need for Spanish-speaking doctors, dentists, and other health care professionals.
“We now need to do more education and outreach,” said NHMA President Elena Rios to the group’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C. last week. “We need to be able to identify and encourage the next generation to be of service in our Latino community.”
Getting more help to serve Latino patients remains a great hurdle to achieving care. There is a growing need for healthcare providers to service Latinos. Removing some of the barriers that many Latinos face when entering into the health care profession. Developing and cultivating mentor and mentee relationships is one way to facilitate this.
“It’s really taking each and individual person with their background and understanding them and helping them transition to the next step,” said Alison Gammie, director of the Division of Training and Workforce Development and Diversity at the National Institutes of Health. “A good mentor has the interest of the mentee in mind in terms of career development and well-being.”
Nearly 25% of the overall Latino population in the United States still lack health insurance coverage. Advocacy groups, such as the League of United Latin American Citizens, National Council of La Raza, and National Association of Hispanic Nurses, are essential in helping create opportunities for the growing Latino population to attain coverage.
“We have a lot more work to do to reach out to our communities here,” said Daniel E. Dawes, co-founder of the Health Equity Leadership & Exchange Network (HELEN). “[Latinos] experience poorer quality of care for about 40% of quality health measures.”
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By The Numbers
25.1
percent
of Latinos remain without health insurance coverage
