Study Examines Hispanic, White Employer-Sponsored Health Coverage Gap

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 14 Nov 2007 - 10:00 PST

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"Why Do Hispanics Have So Little Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance?" Center for Studying Health System Change: The study examines the reasons why Hispanics, despite their increasing population in the U.S., are less likely to have employer-sponsored health coverage than whites. The report -- by James Reschovsky, senior HSC researcher; Jack Hadley, visiting HSC fellow and a George Mason University professor; and Len Nichols, director of the New America Foundation's health policy program -- analyzed data from HSC's nationally representative Community Tracking Study Household Survey. Researchers found that poor education, lack of citizenship and the inability to speak English all contributed to Hispanics having lower-paying jobs and fewer jobs that offer health coverage. English-speaking Hispanics are more likely than Spanish-speaking Hispanics to have employer-sponsored health coverage similar to that of whites, according to the study. Researchers also found that Spanish-speaking Hispanics are less likely to accept health coverage when it is offered. The researchers noted that the findings "suggest that an important policy lever for closing the employer-sponsored insurance coverage gap is to increase Hispanic workers' human capital through both job and English language training" (HSC release, 11/8).

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