Health Equity
Latino Health Equity
Creating Access and Dissolving Health Disparities
The Latino population is the fastest growing population in Oregon, yet many Latinos, including children and pregnant women, suffer from lack of access to health care services.
Oregon’s Hispanic population has an uninsurance rate almost 4 times higher than non-Hispanic whites (41%). When looking at foreign-born Hispanics, the uninsurance rate jumps to 61%.
In national health care and access ratings Oregon ranks 48th on equity measures and 42nd in racial and ethnic equity.
In 2009 35% of Latinos reported experiencing a time when they needed to see a doctor but couldn’t because of costs.
Nationally, more than half of adult undocumented immigrants (59%) had no health insurance during 2007. Among their children, nearly half of those who are unauthorized immigrants (45%) were uninsured.
CAUSA is committed to addressing these health disparities and improving access to care for immigrants and Latinos. That means ensuring that Latinos and immigrant have a voice in the discussion as Oregon develops the insurance exchange, explores ways to improve cultural competency and track minority health. It also means looking at the “upstream” determinants of health, and working to address holes in our state safety net.
CAUSA is working to eliminate language in the Healthy Kids Program that categorically excludes undocumented immigrant children.
8.3% of immigrants in Oregon are under 18 and in need of health insurance. Children should not be discriminated against due to circumstances outside their control.
Insurance matters. Children who are insured are five times less likely to use the emergency room as a regular place of care and ten times more likely to receive all necessary medical care.
CAUSA supports expanding programs that provide prenatal care for ALL women, regardless of documentation status. Barriers such as cost, language, and lack of outreach make Latinas more likely to seek and receive care later:
In Oregon, nearly 1/3 of Hispanic mothers don’t receive prenatal care during their first trimester.
55% of counties in Oregon do not provide pre-natal care for undocumented mothers, leaving 3,000 women without care.
CAUSA advocates for programs to train health care professionals in providing care that is culturally and linguistically competent:
In Oregon, only 10% of physicians are racial minorities, and just 2% are Hispanic.
CAUSA supports sustained funding for community clinics which are often the only option for uninsured or underinsured Oregonians. These clinics are integral to maintaining the health of our communities and the sustainability of our healthcare system.
In 2009 Community Health Centers in Oregon had 1,370,461 visits.
37% of those visits were by racial and ethnic minorities, making them disproportionately represented in the CHC population.
