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According to a report released by the Commonwealth Fund, Hispanic and African American adults are one-and-a-half to three times as likely as white adults to be without health insurance. |
The report concludes that 62% of Hispanic adults aged 19 to 64 were uninsured for an extended period of time in 2005, totaling 15 million uninsured adults. This figure runs several times the 28% national rate of uninsured adults; it is also astonishingly higher than the 20% rate of white adults who reported being uninsured at some point throughout the year. Moreover, 48% of Hispanic adults continue to be uninsured, almost three times the national rate.
The numbers for African American adults are less dramatic but still exceed national rates of uninsured adults. A total of 33% of African American adults reported being uninsured for part of the year, with 19% still uninsured.
Expectedly, the main reason behind this disparity is income: a full 76% of Hispanic adults earning annual wages 200% below the federal poverty line were uninsured, much higher than the percentage of low-income whites and African Americans with low incomes.
Commonwealth Fund President Karen Davis observed, "These findings are extremely troubling and indicate missed opportunities to ensure a healthy and productive workforce. Minority Americans face persistent disparities in rates of healthcare coverage, as well as cost and access barriers to care even when they do have health insurance."
Hispanics also reported being the least confident in their own abilities to manage a health crisis, with 31% saying they could not individually manage a chronic disease or condition. Only 16% of African Americans and 17% of whites reported the same.
The study also discovered the following:
- Over one-third of African American adults (36%) were treated in an emergency room for an ailment which could have been handled in a physician's clinic; only one-fifth of both whites and Hispanics visited the ER for conditions which were easily treatable.
- 75% of Hispanic adults had their blood pressure tested in 2005, compared to 94% of African Americans and 90% of whites.
- 51% of Hispanic adults had a dental exam in 2005, significantly below the 60% figure for African American adults and 65% figure for white adults.
- More than one-quarter (27%) of uninsured Hispanic adults suffering from substantial or chronic ailments had not visited the doctor in the last year; the corresponding figure for ailing uninsured whites and African Americans was 17%.
The study goes on to state that "insurance plays an important role in reducing racial and ethnic disparities in access to care. However, expanding insurance coverage among African Americans and Hispanics alone will not ensure equal access and equal care. Policies that seek to improve the availability of ongoing care relationships with healthcare providers and promote continuity in care would also benefit minority Americans and improve access and quality of care."
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