Racial/ethnic disparities in health insurance coverage and healthcare access worsened during the pandemic, according to a new study in the journal Geospatial Health. The study found Latinos and African Americans were the most affected populations. “Our results suggest that loss of insurance coverage and reduced access to health services deepened inequities in an already uneven healthcare landscape, particularly for African American and Hispanic/Latino populations,” according to the study researchers. Let’s dive into what the data found and what this means for Latinos.
How Did COVID-19 Impact Healthcare for Latinos?
Study researchers – from CDC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public ...
The time is now to secure medical insurance through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). After three years of automatic renewal because of the COVID-19 pandemic, states went back to screening for eligibility in early 2023. As a result, an estimated 15 million people, including 4.6 million Latinos, could lose their medical coverage through these programs over the next few months, depending on what state you live in. To address this, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is launching a new online resource to help people navigate the renewal and/or healthcare transition processes. “Nobody who is eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program should be disenrolled simply because they didn’t have enough ...
Latinos are uninsured more than two times the rate of their white peers. Given that Latinos are projected to grow to 29% of the population by 2050, this lack of healthcare coverage, including Medicaid, will continue to endanger the health of many more individuals, families, and the healthcare system. In honor of Minority Health Month, we’re raising awareness of the Latino healthcare crisis, its impact on Latino communities, and how you can help Latinos gain health insurance coverage.
How Many Latinos Lack Health Insurance?
Despite the benefits of health insurance, people of color, low-income families, and other vulnerable groups unfortunately lack health insurance coverage in the US. Latinos are especially uninsured. A 2022 Census Bureau report found that Latinos had the ...
Clinical trials are the most safe, rigorous way of testing for new and more effective disease treatments. Although Latinos comprise 18.9% of the US population, they make up just 10% of participants in clinical trials run by the National Cancer Institute and 4% of drug trials run by the FDA. This massive underrepresentation of Latinos in clinical trials makes it hard for researchers to develop new treatments for this group, which suffers a heavy burden of cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other diseases. Further, diseases present differently in Latinos than White populations – who traditionally make up most clinical trial participants. For example, Latinos on average present symptoms of Alzheimer’s approximately seven years earlier than other racial and ethnic groups, and are ...
Youth are facing a mental health crisis that is so widespread that U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy has issued a new advisory calling it an “urgent public health issue.” That is especially true for Latino youth. But why? Let’s explore the mental health challenges impacting Latino youth, and how we can make a difference for these children and teens.
1. Latino Youth Struggle with Suicide and Depression
Depression is the most debilitating health issue in the Latino community, NoStigmas reports. Around 17.7% of Latinos suffer from depression during their lifetimes. Only 7.2% of Latinos are diagnosed with depression compared to white Americans. In addition, suicide is the 12th-leading cause of death for both Latino and non-Latino people of all races. 8.6% ...
In the U.S., Latinos are uninsured nearly three times more than their white peers. Given that Latinos are projected to grow to 25% of the population by 2045, this lack of healthcare coverage will continue to endanger the health of many more individuals, families, and the healthcare system. A recent federal report shows just how large this problem is and why it is critical that civic and business leaders address it. “Latinos have consistently been overrepresented in the uninsured population,” states the report from the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE). “Prior to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Latinos had the second-highest nonelderly uninsurance rate among ethnic and racial populations with more than 30% uninsured. “Studies ...
Hispanic? Latino? Latinx? People often debate the best term to use when describing the ethnicity of those who trace their heritage from Latin America and Spain, who comprise 18.5% of the U.S. population. “There’s no correct term to use, and appropriateness varies when using Latino, Hispanic, Latinx, or country of origin,” said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio. Let’s talk about the origins of these terms, who uses them, and what the data says about this population’s own preferences.
The Origin of “Latino”
The term we use at Salud America! to describe this group is “Latino.” “Latino,” or the feminine “Latina,” is used to describe people with ancestry from Latin American countries. Unlike “Hispanic,” the ...
Not all children in Texas have equal access to healthy food and quality healthcare, and stable economic security. Latino children and other children of color face disparities in these areas due to historic systemic racism. The details of these disparities are covered in a new report, “Texas KIDS COUNT: Health Equity for Every Texas Child,” led by nonprofit group Every Texan with support and funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas. The report explores three key areas ─ food insecurity, health insurance, and economic opportunity ─ and what public policy can address inequities so all Texas children can live healthier lives.
The ‘Texas KIDS Count’ Report on Food Insecurity
Food insecurity is prevalent in the United ...
Where you live matters for your health. The health of any population is determined by several factors including the physical, emotional, socioeconomic, and environmental circumstances in which they live. For U.S. Latinos, these factors can be daily challenges and cause poor health outcomes, especially for their children. As a result, Latino children have higher rates of obesity and diabetes and lower levels of physical activity than their non-Latino peers. These inequities are worsening amid the COVID-19 pandemic. These children also are at least twice as likely to be uninsured. "To help reverse these outcomes, it is important for Latino children and youth to enroll in health coverage and have access to preventive care. Children who have health coverage are shown to have ...
