Saturday, June 19, 2004
Hispanics are less likely than whites to be offered insurance by employers.
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
MIAMI -- Hispanics are more likely to suffer from certain chronic diseases and have less access to health care than non-Hispanic whites, panelists said at the kick-off for a series of nationwide conferences in Miami Beach, Fla.
"We're dying of some of these diseases because we're not getting the treatment," said Elena Alvarado, executive director of The National Latina Health Network, the conference sponsor. "If we demand to have programs that will reduce the health disparities, we will be on our way."
The Network, a nonprofit Hispanic health-care advocacy group, is hoping to draw attention to the disadvantages Hispanics face in combating preventable diseases such as HIV/AIDS and Type 2 diabetes.
The data
Among the data presented:
UHispanics are 1.5 times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes than non-Hispanic whites.
UHispanics account for 19 percent of the estimated 40,000 new HIV infections each year although they make up 14 percent of the U.S. population.
UAmong Hispanics ages 18 and older, 64.7 percent of men and 56.8 percent of women are overweight.
UDiseases of the heart and stroke are the leading cause of death for Hispanics. Nearly a quarter are plagued by high blood pressure.
UThirty-seven percent of Hispanics are uninsured, compared to 16 percent of all Americans.
Other ethnic minorities are plagued by similar health-care disparities, if not worse.
Among the risk factors contributing to the higher percentage of Hispanics affected by chronic diseases are a lack of access to health care and Spanish-language materials.
No coverage offered
The large disparity between the percentage of Hispanics with health insurance and their non-Hispanic white counterparts is largely driven by their lack of employer-based coverage, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. While 73 percent of non-Hispanic whites receive medical insurance through their work, only 43 percent of Hispanics are covered by their employers.
Other factors influencing access to health care include immigration status. Undocumented Hispanics are more likely to forgo seeking medical attention for fear of deportation, panelists said.