by 
Share On Social!
A new study published by the International Journal for Equity in Health reported on the still-existing gap among the children of Latino parents. According to the findings, reported by The Washington Post, nearly 50% reported not realizing they were eligible for free or low-cost health insurance. This often forced families to make the decision of paying for health care or going without.
The study was conducted in Dallas, Tex. (41.7% Latino population) from 2011-2014. During the study, 49% of the parents were unaware that their children were eligible for Medicaid or CHIP; 57% of these were Latino parents.
“It tells us that this system is not designed to keep kids on insurance,” says Glenn Flores, a health-policy researcher and pediatrician at Medical Research Institute and the Mayo Clinic, who led the study. “Dallas County is among the worst in Texas, and so it seemed like a natural place for one to conduct the study.”
What the study illustrated was the disconnection between available programs and awareness. “We need to do a much better job with outreach,” Flores said. Parents who have uninsured children cited a variety of factors in regards to their lapses in health care coverage; 30% lost coverage and never reapplied. The disadvantages that befall children who are uninsured are worrisome. Two-thirds of the children in the study had special health-care needs including eczema, allergies, and asthma. The study also found that 40% had no usual source of preventive care and nearly 40% of the parents surveyed expressed financial concerns attributed to their children’s health.
The study did not take into consideration the impact of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which went into effect during the last month of the study. Also, while the children were not insured, this did not mean they did not receive health care. Nearly 1% of the children surveyed were hospitalized each year with parents paying nearly $600 per hospitalization and $50 per preventative visit. However, 75% of parents interviewed said they delayed health care for their children due to financial concerns.
In a companion study, Flores and his team believe they may have come up with a solution to the health care disparities in Dallas. They conducted a randomized, controlled trial that paired parent mentors — people trained on the importance of health insurance and how to get coverage for kids and whose own children had been enrolled in Medicaid or CHIP for a year — with families identified in the first study.
Since the passing of the ACA, 95% of the children in the survey obtained health care coverage through working with mentors. This resulted in lower, out-of-pocket costs, greater access to coverage, and greater satisfaction regarding the health of their children.
Read more about the story here.
Share this story on Twitter: New study helps uninsured children in Texas. #SaludAmerica http://salud.to/1T2bEVW @SaludToday
By The Numbers
25.1
percent
of Latinos remain without health insurance coverage
