Latinos and Healthcare Insurance: Challenges for Largest Uninsured Minority Group Ahead of Obamacare Second Enrollment Period
The second open enrollment period for the Affordable Care Act's Federal Marketplace is scheduled to reopen in two months, and health care agencies have been learning how to decrease the rate of uninsured Latinos.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Marilyn Tavenner told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee that, overall, 7.3 million individuals have enrolled and paid their premiums into the federal marketplaces implemented by the ACA, also known as Obamacare. As of May, 8 million Americans enrolled with Obamacare during the first open enrollment period between Oct. 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014, and during the extended Special Enrollment Period through April 19.
Of the 8 million enrollees, 28 percent are millennials -- between the ages of 18 and 34. Latinos were the third-largest group of enrollees based on race and ethnicity. While whites and African-Americans represented 62.9 percent and 16.7 percent of the Obamacare enrollment respectively, Latinos were 10.7 percent of the applicants.
The number of Latino Obamacare enrollees has been considered disappointing, as 29 percent of Latinos are uninsured, the country's largest uninsured minority, based on the American Community Survey in 2012. One month prior to the first enrollment period's conclusion, HHS revealed 10.2 million Latinos are uninsured despite being eligible. Most of the uninsured Latinos live in California, Texas, Florida, New York and Arizona.
During Portada's Hispanic Advertising and Media Conference in New York City, WellPoint Inc. Multicultural Marketing Strategy Director Solomon Romano said Hispanics have encountered challenges with health care insurance. Romano said Hispanics lack familiarity with insurance "in general" and awareness about health care reforms.
Spanish-only speaking individuals have also encountered challenges due to shortages in Spanish-speaking agents and educators.
According to PricewaterhouseCoopers, Hispanics are less likely to share their personal information even for the benefit of receiving health insurance. The PwC report found 33 percent of Hispanics are not willing to share personal information, especially Hispanic men.
"Hispanic focus group participants described generations of mistrust of formal institutions such as the government and insurance companies. Trust is key, but the corporate world and government have failed to earn it. So has the health industry," noted the PWC report "Hispanics: A Growing Force in the New Health Economy."
The PwC report noted 60 percent of Hispanics were willing to share information depending on how a company articulates how their information will be used.
With Latinos experiencing several challenges, companies are trying different methods to ease the population for the second enrollment period. Romano noted WellPoint's marketing efforts include direct mail, television and online advertising as well as partnerships with Univision and grassroots outreach.
With the largest number of uninsured Latinos -- 2.8 million -- the state of California also plans on improving enrollment efforts. The state's insurance exchange, Covered California, wants to "simplify" the renewal process for current enrollees. Covered California also has a budget of $74 million with the intention to increase enrollment to 1.7 million people by early 2015.
The second enrollment period begins Nov. 15 and ends in mid-February 2015.
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