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Many Hispanics Shut Out of U.S. Health Care System

Many Hispanics Close Out of U.S. Health Care System

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 13 (HealthDay News) -- An estimated 25 percent of Hispanics in the United States don't possess a normal health care provider to treat their health examination needs.

As well as these people tend to be the newest documented as well as undocumented immigrants as well as those without health insurance, a recent survey found.

The survey, conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center as well as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, is substantial because it paints a picture of health care among Hispanics in the United States, according to William Vega, a family medicine professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Hispanics make up the largest minority group in the United States, comprising 45 million people as well as growing, Vega noted during a teleconference Tuesday.

"The gradient of time in the country as well as being born in the country or outside the country has a lot to do with how people perceive as well as experience the health care system, as well as especially the deficits of that system," Vega said.

One key finding of the survey was how many Hispanics lack a "medical home" -- a normal provider to supply health examination care.

"If you compare these numbers to those from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control as well as Prevention, Latinos are more than twice as likely to lack a usual health care provider," Gretchen Livingston, a senior researcher at the Pew Hispanic Center, said during the teleconference.

As well as that could pose problems because rates of diabetes are high among Hispanics. But nearly one-third of the survey respondents said they know little about the disease or how to halt or manage it.

Hispanic men are less likely to possess a usual health care provider than women, 37 percent to 17 percent, respectively, Livingston noted. As well as younger Hispanics are less likely to possess a usual provider than older ones. Education levels as well as play a role, with one-third of high school dropouts lacking a usual provider, compared with 19 percent who possess some college, she said.

"We found a number of characteristics of health care access that are particular to Latinos," Livingston added. "Especially substantial is assimilation."

For instance, foreign-born Hispanics are less likely to possess a usual health care provider, as are those who only speak Spanish, Livingston said. Among those who possess been in the United States for five years or less, 49 percent don't possess a normal care provider, compared with 21 percent of Hispanics who possess been in the United States for 15 years or more, according to the survey.

Access to health insurance plays a big role, too, the survey found.

"Among people who possess health insurance, 19 percent lacked a usual health care provider, compared to 42 percent of people who lack health insurance," Livingston said.

Curiously, many Hispanics who don't possess a usual health care provider were born in the United States as well as are educated, as well as 45 percent possess health insurance, Livingston said. "This suggests that it's not only financial reasons that are keeping Latinos from doctors," she added.

Among those who did seek normal care, more than 75 percent said their care was "good" or "excellent," Livingston said. Those with positive experiences typically had a usual health care provider as well as health insurance.

"Among those people who reported they were not satisfied with their health care, the most ordinary reason why they received without money health care was financial," Livingston said. "They felt that their health care professional did not provide pleasant care because they did not possess the means to pay for the health care."

About 8 percent of Hispanics, mostly those who live near the Mexican border, said they crossed the border for their health care. This was particularly ordinary among people who rated their U.S. health care as without money, Livingston said.

Another aspect of the survey dealt with how Hispanics get their health examination information. "About a third of Hispanics get their health examination information from doctors," Susan Minushkin, deputy director at the Pew Hispanic Center, said during the teleconference.

Women, older Hispanic men, more educated Hispanics, those born in the United States, as well as those with insurance as well as a usual care provider are more likely to get their health examination information from doctors, Minushkin said.

Many Hispanics get their health care information from Spanish television as well as radio, Minushkin said. Hispanics who are bilingual or English speakers as well as better educated as well as younger tend to get health information from the Internet, she added.

SOURCES: Aug. 12, 2008, teleconference with Gretchen Livingston, senior researcher, as well as Susan Minushkin, deputy director, Pew Hispanic Center, Washington, D.C.; William Vega, Ph.D., professor of family medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA; Aug. 13, 2008, Pew Hispanic Center/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation survey

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