After two election cycles of Democrats successfully marketing Obamacare to Hispanic voters, the health care law's rocky start could turn into a bargaining chip for Republicans.


Hispanic adults have supported President Obama's Affordable Care Act at a rate twice that of whites. More than 10 million Hispanics—roughly one-fourth of the total uninsured population—stand to benefit from the law. An outsize proportion of the eligible Hispanics are the healthy millennials who could make or break universal health care.


But glitches on the enrollment site are blocking Hispanics (and everyone else) from signing up for subsidized insurance, while the Spanish-language website has been delayed until further notice. In a surprising gaffe by an administration that has put a premium on Hispanic outreach, the site geared toward Hispanics featured pictures of Asian-Americans at one point.


Read the whole story at National Journal [1]




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  • Uninsured -- countrywide


    Nearly 33 percent of Hispanics under the age of 65 <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus11.pdf#fig40" target="_hplink">had no health coverage</a> in 2010.

    Hispanics had the highest numbers of uninsured compared to blacks (22 percent), whites (14 percent) and others (19 percent) who lacked health insurance.




  • States With Highest Numbers Of Uninsured Latinos


    <strong>Georgia:</strong> 45 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of Georgia. Only 22 percent of the state's total population under age 65 is in the same situation.

    <strong>North Carolina:</strong> 49 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of North Carolina. About 20 percent of North Carolina's population under age 65 is uninsured.

    <strong>Kentucky: </strong>51 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of Kentucky. The same is true for only 18 percent of the rest of the state's residents under age 65.

    <strong>South Carolina:</strong> 57 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of South Carolina. Just 22 percent of the total non elderly population in South Carolina is uninsured.


    <a href="http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparetable.jsp?ind=143&cat=3" target="_hplink">Source</a>




  • States With Lowest Numbers Of Uninsured Latinos


    <strong> Massachusetts:</strong> 9 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of Massachusetts. 6 percent of the total non elderly population in Massachusetts is uninsured.

    <strong>Michigan:</strong> 16 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of Michigan. About 15 percent of the total non elderly population in Michigan is also uninsured.

    <strong>Wisconsin:</strong> 20 percent of Latinos under age 65 are uninsured in the state of Wisconsin. About 11 percent of the total non elderly population in Wisconsin is uninsured.

    <strong>Pennsylvania:</strong> 22 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in Pennsylvania. Only 13 percent of the state's total non elderly population faces the same problem.

    <a href="http://www.statehealthfacts.org/comparetable.jsp?ind=143&cat=3" target="_hplink">Source</a>




  • Population Growth


    The U.S. Hispanic population surged 43%, rising to 50.5 million in 2010 from 35.3 million in 2000. Latinos constitute 16% of the nation's total population.

    The Pew Hispanic Center projects that nearly <a href="http://www.pewhispanic.org/2008/02/11/us-population-projections-2005-2050/" target="_hplink">one in five Americans (19%) will be foreign born</a> in 2050. And Latinos will represent 29 percent of the nation's population in 2050, accounting for almost one third of the entire country.

    Immigration will be the main factor for population growth. Of the 117 million people expected to join the U.S. population between 2005 to 2050, <a href="http://www.pewhispanic.org/2008/02/11/us-population-projections-2005-2050/" target="_hplink">67 million will be immigrants.</a>

    Many of these immigrants <a href="http://prospect.org/article/reforms-mixed-impact-immigrants-0" target="_hplink">are not eligible</a> for government-sponsored or subsidized health care under The Affordable Care Act.




  • Immigrants And Medicaid


    Medicaid provides essential coverage to vulnerable
    populations who might otherwise be uninsured. Latinos are about <a href="http://www.nclr.org/images/uploads/publications/FastFacts_LatnosandHealthCare2012.pdf" target="_hplink">two times more likely</a> than Whites to have coverage through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP).

    But immigrants are<a href="http://www.nclr.org/images/uploads/publications/Fact_Sheet_Hispanics_and_Medicaid_State_by_State07-19-2011.pdf" target="_hplink"> less likely to have access to employer-sponsored </a>health insurance.

    Legal immigrants can enroll in Medicaid, CHIP only after they have been in the country for five years, while undocumented immigrants are barred from government insurance programs altogether, <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2010/06/07/falling-through-the-cracks.html" target="_hplink">according to The Daily Beast. </a>




  • Who Are Most Likely To Be Uninsured?


    Uninsured adults are more common than children without health insurance, but Latino kids are <a href="http://www.nclr.org/images/uploads/publications/FastFacts_LatinosandHealthCare2012.pdf" target="_hplink">more than two times more likely than White children </a>to be uninsured.

    <a href="http://www.nclr.org/images/uploads/publications/FastFacts_LatinosandHealthCare2012.pdf" target="_hplink">Nearly 50 percent of Latino children</a> are enrolled in Medicaid (CHIP ). However, Latino children represent the largest portion of (39.1 percent) American children who are eligible for but not enrolled in these programs.




  • Leading Causes Of Death In The Latino Community In The U.S. :


    1. Heart disease
    2. Cancer
    3. Unintentional injuries
    4. Stroke
    5. Diabetes
    6. Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis
    7. Chronic lower respiratory disease
    8. Homicide
    9. Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period, the months just before and after birth.
    10. Influenza and pneumonia

    <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/OMHD/POPULATIONS/HL/hl.htm" target="_hplink">Source




  • Diabetes And Health Care Coverage


    The Affordable Care Act allows for<a href="http://www.everydayhealth.com/type-1-diabetes/how-health-care-reform-will-affect-people-with-type-1-diabetes.aspx" target="_hplink"> easier and more affordable treatment</a> for chronic diseases.

    Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children under 19 due to a pre-existing condition and people who can not find affordable private coverage but earn too much for the now expanded Medicaid program or government insurance subsidies will be eligible for government-run high risk insurance pools.

    As diabetes disproportionately affects Hispanics in the United States, the ability to secure affordable coverage with a pre-existing condition is important. <a href="http://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/factsheets/hispanic.htm" target="_hplink">According to a CDC investigation</a> Hispanics have double the risk of developing diabetes compared with non-Hispanic whites and they tend to develop diabetes at a younger age.

    Latino children and youth under 20 years of age diagnosed with diabetes is growing at an alarming rate -- <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/13/diabetes-latinos-growing-rates-_n_1590697.html" target="_hplink">the fastest of any ethnic group in the U.S.</a>




  • Costs


    In 2008, Hispanics made up nearly <a href="http://www.nclr.org/images/uploads/publications/FastFacts_LatinosandHealthCare2012.pdf" target="_hplink">16 percent of U.S. residents</a> but <a href="http://www.nclr.org/images/uploads/publications/FastFacts_LatinosandHealthCare2012.pdf" target="_hplink">but accounted for less than 10 percent</a> of the nation's total health care costs.




  • Health Care -- Political Implications


    U.S. Hispanics prioritize immigration, healthcare, and unemployment to equal degrees,<a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/155327/Hispanic-Voters-Put-Issues-Immigration.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_content=morelink&utm_term=All Gallup Headlines - Economy - Election 2012 - Government - Political Parties - Unemployment" target="_hplink"> according to a June Gallup Poll </a>. However, a slight majority of Hispanic registered voters (21 percent) identified healthcare as the most important issue when it comes to casting their vote.