A healthy population is one that enjoys a stable economy and social and health development. Health insurance is critical to children’s well-being. As a whole, Latin American children in the U.S. have a lower quality and quantity of healthcare services than non-Latinos. By this, we mean obtaining appropriate care from the healthcare system in a timely manner. Along with the Native American population, Latinos suffer the highest percentage of uninsured children. As of early 2020, less than half of them had private insurance (37%), nearly 54% rely on public coverage such as Medicaid, and more than 9% have no insurance or any type of health protection. There are about 1.83 million uninsured Latino children in the country.
The Biden administration is taking steps that aimed at facilitating and improving health care eligibility. The executive order strengthening Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was signed with the purpose of facilitating Medicaid and ACA enrollment due to the need for coverage in the midst of COVID-19. Some states have still to expand Medicaid and Medicare in order to make this executive order more effective. The ratio of uninsured children was 2.5 times higher in states where there was no Medicaid coverage. When you compare the ratio, Arkansas has 15.5% vs 4.2% (more than 3.5x); Virginia 12.3% vs 3.7% (almost 3x); Mississippi 19.2% vs 5.4% (more than 3.5x); Louisiana 13.4% vs 3.8%(more than 3.5x) , and Tennessee 17.7% vs 3.7% (almost 5x). In Texas, By 2019 almost 18% of Latino children and 48% of latino adults were uninsured. Texas has not expanded Medicaid to more low-income people through the Affordable Care Act (ACA). However, the migrant mobilization from urban cities in big states like California, New York, Texas, or Florida to the suburban and rural communities of the country plays an important role in the phenomenon of uninsured children. Medicaid expansion would be a feasible solution to solve this serious population problem but state politics continue to present a barrier to adopting Medicaid expansion.
A Georgetown University report determined that the difference in the ratio depends on the immigrants’ country of origin. More than 25% of Central American children do not have health insurance compared to 9.6% from Mexico and 4.6% from South America. As the population grows into adulthood the rate of private coverage increases, but at the same time, the health protection they receive from the state decreases.
In addition, the Latino population suffers many problems with the eligibility parameters. Latino immigrants without legal documents or with less than 5 years of legal status are ineligible for these benefits. This, considering the fact that Hispanic, Black and Asian children are more likely to be rejected than the White population. Marginalized minorities such as Latin Americans suffer not only from low rates of healthcare protection but also low rates of enrolled employment despite the fact that they represent a high percentage of the American workforce, and in many cases they are frontline workers. Latinos are one of the poorest demographic groups in the United States, with roughly 1 in 4 Latinos living in poverty.
40% of Latino people are more likely to die from asthma than non-Latino whites, and nearly 10% of Latino children under the age of 18 suffer from this chronic respiratory disease. Latino youth are also more likely to have mental health problems than their peers. In other health related areas, the U.S. Latino population has disproportionately higher rates of obesity than white citizens. The neighborhoods where they live often lack key resources for healthcare services and access to fresh and healthy food. Economic inequality is another major influence of healthcare. Income can produce greater access to resources that enable healthy weight maintenance among the population. Mechanisms driven by racial discrimination often prevent the Hispanic population from accessing similar resources. This is a concern that should be taken even more seriously given the growing population of young Latinos in the United States.
It is important to mention how the situation has been worsening since the onset of the pandemic. Racial and ethnic minorities populations are disproportionately represented among essential workers and industries, which could be a contributing factor to racial and ethnic healthcare disparities under COVID-19. The Georgetown report states “The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated long standing health disparities for Latinos and other communities of color”. Policymakers need to keep working on a more equitable healthcare system. Medicaid and Medicare expansion is one key lever already at states’ disposal, thanks to this executive order.