Uninsured Rates of Hispanics Essay

Financial burdens greatly limit the system’s accessibility; however, many in the U.S. are unable to fully utilize either option. Census estimates from 1999 indicate that 43 million Americans live without health insurance even though 75 percent of them have a full-time job or live in a household with at least one member working full-time (Mueller, , 5) In addition to the totally uninsured, census estimates also reveal that approximately 42 million other people in the U.S. are underinsured. This means that they have some insurance, but are still unable to afford all of their needed prescriptions, tests, visits to physicians, or hospital

In addition to those who are unemployed, you also have the Americans that are employed and still uninsured. These Americans either choose not to have health insurance or they are still unable to afford it. I have been there, I had to choose more money on my paycheck over having health insurance. For most, being uninsured is not a choice, insurance is simply unaffordable. In an article on The Economic Impact Of The Uninsured it states that “eighty percent of uninsured people are employed, or live in a home where a family member is employed. Their plight has nothing to do with a slow economy” (Knowledge@Emory). More young Americans look at insurance as a luxury not a necessity. However, when the unknown happens then these young people are faced with an enormous

Cardenas & Kerby (2012) reveal, “Our country is rapidly changing. As we approach the year 2050, our nation will be increasingly more diverse, and Latinos will be one of the forces driving this demographic change. According to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau population estimate, there are roughly 50.5 million Hispanics representing about 16 percent of the U.S. population. By 2050, when demographers tell us that there will be no racial or ethnic majority among the general population of the United States, it is projected that the Latino population will double to 30 percent. Consequently, the role of Latinos in shaping our country’s political and economic climate is becoming more significant (Para. 1).This essay will explain some of the social class experiences of Hispanic Americans including economic struggles, education attainment, and healthcare insurance.

About 36.6% of the population in the U.S belong to or identifies as one of the 5 ethnic minority groups. These groups are Native Hawaiian, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, African American or Black, or Pacific Islander. The U.S has the most expensive health care system in the world yet many of these minority groups are worse off in regards to socioeconomic and health care status if compared to white Americans. It is plain to see this health disparity when some communities have death rates comparable to 3rd world countries.

Reducing the number of uninsured Americans: Nationwide, since the Affordable Care Act’s coverage expansion began, about

By collecting date resources from official and do the analysis, they find that “this population is also less likely than the native-born population to have access to a regular health care provider due in part to the high cost of such care and partly due to the lack of continuous coverage.” (Brown 991). There is a common situation among them that they are not covered by Medicaid or private insurance. Lack of health insurance reinforce Mexican women to deserve reasonable pre-pregnancy check. In Betancourt’s study, the table 5 also shows that seventy-six percent of Latino women have experienced the barrier of cost.

In a study entitled " Who are the Remaining Uninsured and Why Haven't They Signed Up for Coverage?" there were factors identified that attributes to higher rates of uninsured groups. The factors are as follows: the ACA's exclusion of undocumented immigrants from the coverage expansion; the lack of Medicaid expansion in 19 states; less awareness of marketplaces in some demographic groups; concerns about affordability and eligibility; difficulty selecting plans during the enrollment process, and lack of assistance in selecting

Hypothesis: High rates of Immigrants in a state could be a reason for high rates of uninsured among several other

Mitchell (2015) discovered that, compared to white Americans, those who are uninsured or underinsured tend to lack regular sources and access to care and receive poor quality of care. About 50% of these individuals are “in lower socioeconomic brackets [with] limited education in historically underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, who have . . . experienced oppression, discrimination, and social and economic inequalities. [Consequently,] they experience higher rates of disease,

The CDC report shows that non-Hispanic white persons who were living in poor conditions were unable to go to work due to health issues. It is stated that it was twice as much as the Hispanic population. Moreover, it was reported that white people experienced greater incidents of adverse medical consultancy than the Hispanic persons. Statistics show that the numbers are 129 and 82 (out of thousand) respectively. However, the figures for health insurance in case of Hispanic people are not satisfactory. Around 32% of Hispanic population, who lie in the age bracket of less than 65, is not medically insured. (Cdc.gov, 2015)

In 2010, the United States took the first tangible step toward universal health care coverage, with the legalization of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s most recent report the total population of the United States is nearly 309 million people (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010). In 2009, it was estimated 49 % of the population was covered under an employer sponsored insurance plan (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2009). The same 2009 data reported an additional 29 % of the population was covered under some form of government or public program (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2009). Leaving 17 % of the U.S. population vulnerable without any form of health insurance coverage

The Affordable Care Act, which expanded access to affordable healthcare across the country, has excluding coverage to the almost twelve million undocumented immigrants living in the United States (Nevarez, 2014). Excluding these members of the country has left it nearly impossible to obtain healthcare needs for these individuals. State laws suggest, undocumented immigrants are not allowed any assistance including federal subsidies in order to purchase medical coverage. Undocumented immigrants are also restricted against personally purchasing healthcare coverage through an insurance company, which leaves few options to obtain proper medical care (Nevarez, 2014). Statistics have found that over half of the undocumented population residing in

The perspective I have about the recent efforts to help the uninsured in the U.S is it has come a long way towards positive change since the 1950’s till now. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 (ACA)/ Obama Care, has provided the uninsured with medical insurance and access to reduce the risk of health issue through prevention. The law expands eligibility for public insurance, use of federal subsidies to make private coverage more affordable, new rules on insurers and employers to make coverage more accessible, and require all Americans to have some form of health insurance (Knickman and Kovner, 2015). The outcome of this enactment; 5 million Americans enrolled in state Medicaid programs, 8 million received public subsidies,

Increasing costs of insurance are leaving some people out in the cold. I am one of the many people that fit into the mold of being “uninsured”. I cannot afford the price it costs to have the protective umbrella around me. Health care is emerging as one of the biggest issues to be brought to the table. Many families are paying an average of $3,000.00 a month for a family of 4. To be caught without it is unthinkable for families (Ferguson, 2011). Such high costs vastly increase the amount that families must earn to meet their needs. Many believe that the United States has the best health care system in the world. The best treatments, the best medical technology, the best pharmaceuticals, but this is like a cruel joke to the uninsured who include

Access to preventive health care should not be definable as one of life’s luxuries, yet that is what is has come to be for the approximately “50 million Americans” who have no health insurance (Turka & Caplan, 2010). Clogged emergency rooms and “preventable deaths” are just two of the consequences associated with the lack of health insurance that would provide access to preventive care (Turka & Caplan, 2010). We as a nation are depriving our citizens of one of our most basic needs—being healthy.