How do Uninsured and Insured Latinos Use Healthcare?

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The Affordable Care Act (ACA) was in part established to increase healthcare coverage among racial/ethnic minorities to improve their access and utilization of care.

But many factors still prevent individuals from obtaining care.

Latino and Black adults who are privately insured don’t fare as well as White adults on several healthcare utilization and access categories and have less confidence in their ability to afford medical costs, according to a recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Among the uninsured, there are fewer differences between Latino and Black adults and White adults and Medicaid enrollees; where there were differences, Latinos and Black adults fared better than White adults in most cases.

Latinos also were less likely than Whites to delay or forgo care; they also were more likely to seek out preventive care. This difference can partly be explained by the greater need for uninsured Hispanics to rely on clinics for care and the proactive outreach clinics often undertake to connect to patients.

Among the privately insured, Latinos and Blacks were found to be less likely than Whites to have a regular health provider and were less likely to have confidence in their ability to pay for major medical bills. Also, privately insured Latinos were found to be less likely than Whites to seek out preventive medical services or care.

Overall, the survey found that the gains in health coverage under the ACA will ultimately lead to improvements in access to care for White, Black, and Latino adults.