Why are Latinos the most uninsured?

Asked by: Mr. Christian McKenzie  |  Last update: November 1, 2025
Score: 4.7/5 (15 votes)

A variety of factors make Latinos less likely to have health insurance, including language barriers, types of occupations and immigration status. Coverage problems extend well beyond undocumented individuals.

Why are so many Hispanics uninsured?

A study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research finds that Latinos are less likely to have health insurance due to lack of coverage through an employer and barriers such as citizenship restrictions on access.

What race has the highest uninsured rate?

Most of this decrease took place between 2010 and 2015, with smaller but still statistically significant decreases between 2015 and 2020 and between 2020 and 2022. American Indians and Alaska Natives had the highest uninsured rate in 2022 (19.9 percent), followed by Latinos of all races (18.0 percent).

Do Latinos have the highest rate of being without healthcare insurance in the United States?

Latinos have long been overrepresented in the uninsured population: In 2022, Latinos represented 21 percent of the total non-elderly population but accounted for 39 percent of the nonelderly uninsured population.

Why do Hispanics not seek healthcare?

About half (48%) say a major reason is that Hispanic people have less access to quality medical care where they live. At least four-in-ten Hispanic adults also point to communication problems arising from language or cultural differences (44%) and preexisting health conditions (40%) as major reasons.

Explaining Health Care Disparities Among Hispanics

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Who are the most uninsured in America?

Uninsured rates in the U.S. still show clear racial and ethnic disparities. In 2023, 17.9% of Hispanic people and 18.7% of AIAN people ages 0 to 64 were uninsured—more than two and a half times the rate for White people (6.5%). Asian individuals had the lowest uninsured rate at 5.8%.

What is the healthiest race in America?

Whites are usually taken as the standard against which other groups are compared, but they are not necessarily in the best health. Hispanics appear to be healthier than whites on a number of measures, though not all. Asians are generally in better health than any other group (Hummer et al., 2004).

What race buys the most life insurance?

Black Americans are more likely to own individual life insurance than the general population. Fifty- eight percent of Black Americans own individual coverage, while just 52 percent of all Americans have individual coverage. Life insurance offered through an employer is a benefit Black Americans value.

Who is least likely to be insured?

Age. Three-quarters of the uninsured are adults (ages 18–64 years), while one-quarter of the uninsured are children. Compared with other age groups, young adults are the most likely to go without coverage.

What race is on Medicaid the most?

In the United States, during 2021-2023 (average), Medicaid coverage percent at the time of birth were highest for American Indian/Alaska Native women (65.4%), followed by Blacks (64.1%), Hispanics (58.6%), Whites (27.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islanders (24.0%).

Are Latinos people of color?

The United States census denotes the term "Latino" as a pan-ethnic label, rather than a racial category, and although many Latinos may qualify as being "people of color", the indiscriminate labeling of all Latinos as "people of color" obscures the racial diversity that exists within the Latino population itself, and ...

What state has the most uninsured drivers?

Mississippi has the highest uninsured motorist population

Mississippi had the highest uninsured motorist population in 2019 at 29.4%, followed by Michigan (25.5%), Tennessee (23.7%), New Mexico (21.8%), and Washington state (21.7%).

Why don't Hispanics go to the doctor?

The reasons many Latino people stay away from the doctor's office are complex. Lack of insurance, cultural and language barriers, cost of care and immigration status all influence why people don't go. Research shows that men in general are less likely to visit a doctor than women, a trend that cuts across race.

What happens in America if you can't afford healthcare?

Americans are no longer taxed for not carrying health insurance. Medical debt contributes to a large number of bankruptcies in America. Access to quality primary care is critical, but doctors have the right to refuse patients without insurance or who are able to pay out-of-pocket expenses.

What does Latino exclude?

Latino, Latina, Latinx, Latine: Latino, Latina, Latinx, and Latine are geographic terms, which refers to a person from Latin America or of Latin American descent. This includes Brazil, but excludes Spain.

What race is the least insured?

Uninsured rates are higher among Latino, American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN), Black, and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) people than among Asian, white, and multiracial people.

What percentage of Latinos have life insurance?

The 2024 Insurance Barometer Study, by LIMRA and Life Happens, reveals only 43% of Hispanics report having life insurance coverage. This is the lowest ownership among any racial or ethnic group over the last decade.

Who is the most expensive demographic to insure?

Key takeaways. 18-year-old drivers on their own policy pay the highest car insurance premiums out of the age groups Bankrate analyzed. The most significant difference in premiums by gender occurs at age 18. On average, 18-year-old males cost 9 percent less to insure than their female counterparts.

What is the poorest race in us?

38% Black or African American. 43% Hispanic or Latino. 34% Middle Eastern. 40% Multiracial.

What race has the shortest life expectancy?

Life expectancy is lowest for AIAN people at 67.9 years, followed by Black people at 72.8 years, while White and Hispanic people have higher life expectancies of 77.5 and 80 years, respectively, and Asian people have the highest life expectancy at 84.5 years.

What is my ethnicity if I am white?

White. “The category 'White' includes all individuals who identify with one or more nationalities or ethnic groups originating in Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.” Some examples of these groups include: German, Italian, Lebanese, Cajun, Chaldean, Slavic, Iranian, French, Polish, Egyptian, Irish, and English.

How many Latinos are uninsured?

Since the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, the uninsured rate for Latinos had decreased from 33 percent to 18 percent — which means 9 million more Latinos now have insurance coverage in the U.S. However, in a new survey, we found that more than half (55%) of Hispanic/Latino adults are inadequately insured.

What age group is most uninsured?

In 2019, adults aged 18–44 were the most likely to be uninsured (17.0%), compared with adults aged 45–64 (11.1%) and children under age 18 years (5.1%). Among adults aged 19–25, 17.5% were uninsured in 2019.

Why do so many Americans not have health insurance?

uninsurance has been attributed to a number of factors, including rising health care costs, the economic downturn, an erosion of employer-based insurance, and public program cutbacks. Developing effective strategies for reducing uninsurance requires understanding why people lack insurance coverage.