Important Health Care Issues for California Latinos: Health Insurance and Health Status

This is a joint publication of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California (LCHC). Using data from the 2001 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS 2001), this health policy fact sheet presents findings on the health of Latinos in California -- their health insurance coverage, health status, and usual source of care, followed by some policy recommendations. Main findings reported include: * More than one in four Latinos ages 0-64 in California are uninsured (28% of Latinos compared to 9% of whites). * Overall, Latinos are the most likely to report that their general health is fair or poor, compared with other ethnic groups. * Over 1.6 million Latinos in California, or 18.5%, do not have a usual source of health care. * Medi-Cal or Healthy Families could extend coverage to ... uninsured Latino children, more than 460,000 in all. Funding for the research and the development of this fact sheet was provided by the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California.

Publication Authors:

• Jennifer Aguayo
• Michael A. Rodriguez, MD, MPH
• Lia Margolis