Achieving a quality education is one of the key, fundamental social determiners of health. People with higher education levels have better long-term health. More and more Latinos are enrolling in college. One city in the U.S. is looking to make access to higher education even more available than ever. Mayor Ed Lee of San Francisco (15.3% Latino population) recently announced that the city would make college education free “to all its residents” through the City College of San Francisco. The plan will go into effect in 2018 and was made possible due to a tax on properties sold for at least $5 million. “To California residents who are living in San Francisco, your community college is now free,” Mayor Ed Lee said in an interview with USA Today. In order to ...
On January 31, 2017, the latest period of Open Enrollment for health care coverage ended with more than 9.2 million plans selected in states that use the HealthCare.gov eligibility and enrollment platform. This marks a 25% increase from the previous year. The Open Enrollment period saw about 3 million are new consumers sign up for coverage through the Marketplace. This accounts 33% of all plan selections being from new consumers. Over 4.2 million Latinos have gained health insurance since the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This has lowered the rate of Latino uninsured by 7.7%. In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to address inequities in programs, practices, and policies. Join our site, connect with others, and get ...
Financial stress, especially the cost that comes from struggling to afford housing payments, is one of the most toxic people can experience. While the financial crisis of 2008 is over and the economy as a whole has by and large rebounded, Latinos are still reeling from its lingering effects. More and more Latinos and Latino families are choosing to rent than buy a home. According to research by The Hill, Latino homeownership rates that declined due to the financial crisis are still on the decline. In 2007, nearly 50% of all Latino households owned their own homes. In 2017, that rate is now 47% and sinking. Research also found that the number of Latino families submitting mortgage applications have plummeted 74% from their peak numbers in 2007. The much stricter financial ...
People living in rural areas are more likely to die from heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease, stroke, and unintentional injuries than their urban counterparts. The top five causes of death accounted for more than 1.5 million deaths in the United States in 2014. This figure accounts for 62% of all the deaths in the country at that time. Among those living in rural areas, over 70,000 of these deaths were preventable, The Washington Post reports. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined that of the preventable deaths, 25,000 individuals died from heart disease and 19,000 died from cancer. Latinos face even higher risks of cardiovascular diseases because of the disparities in high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes compared to whites. Cancer is the ...
Do the vending machines in your workplace, school, or city have calorie labels posted on food items? If not, they should, as the law passed by congress in March 2010 has now been in effect for over 5 million vending machines across the nation since December 1, 2016. Vending machines that are owned or operated by vendors with 20 or more machines should now officially offer consumers information to make the healthier choice the easier choice with calories labeled for each food and beverage item. A fact sheet on vending labeling developed by The Center for Science in the Public Interest and Voices for Healthy Kids, a joint initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the American Heart Association has detailed information about the requirements of the law. The fact ...
Despite being the country’s largest racial/ethnic group, Latinos suffer from “vast differences” in health conditions compared to whites. These health disparities prevent many Latinos from attaining quality health and well-being, educational achievement, and financial success. A new report from The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine entitled Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity addresses the roles that communities can play in helping people achieve health equity. By linking health equity with opportunity, the research for the report has shown that problems ranging from poverty, unemployment, low educational attainment, inadequate housing, and a lack of public transportation among many other factors. In order to reduce health disparities, ...
In 2009 address to Congress, President Barack Obama predicted that by 2020, the U.S. would “once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.” In March of 2009, 41% of all adults in the country aged 25-34 had achieved a college degree. By March of 2016, 48% had achieved degrees, according to Pew Research. To achieve the original goal, 60% of all adults in the U.S. age 25-34 would need to have completed an associate’s degree by 2020. As of 2015, the United States ranked 10th among the 35 countries ranked by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); this ranking was up from 15th in 2009. The U.S. still trailed nations such as Japan and Canada by as much as 10 percentage points. In order to reduce health disparities, it is ...
The deadline to sign up for health coverage for 2017 as part of Open Enrollment is today! Those who sign up for coverage through Marketplace have until midnight tonight to sign up. Coverage purchased this year will be good for all of 2017. In shopping for plans, most people have been able to obtain coverage for less than $75 a month due to financial assistance that’s available. In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to address inequities in programs, practices, and policies. Join our site, connect with others, and get involved. Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), over 910,000 Latino adults – between the ages of 19 and 26 – who would have previously been without coverage were now eligible to remain on their parents’ ...
On the eve of the deadline for Open Enrollment, many people who have not registered for coverage have not done so because they still have questions. Groups such as Enroll America have made it a priority in the waning days leading up to the deadline on January 31, 2017, to dispel as many of the myths and answer questions surrounding health coverage. Myth: It isn’t worth it to sign up for coverage. People still need to have coverage for 2017 or they could face steep fines when it is time to file for their income taxes. When Open Enrollment began last November, 100,000 people signed up for coverage on the first day. Any new laws concerning healthcare will more than likely not be implemented in 2017. Myth: I can’t afford the coverage A large number of people who obtain ...
