States Struggle to Add Latinos to Health Rolls

New York Times ^ | February 13, 2014 | JENNIFER MEDINA and ABBY GOODNOUGH

[reaganaut1]

LOS ANGELES — With an estimated 15 percent of the country’s uninsured population, California is crucial to the success of President Obama’s health care overhaul. Here, that success cannot come without enrolling Latinos, who make up more than half of the state’s uninsured.

But so far, enrollment of Latinos has fallen strikingly below the hopes of the law’s proponents, accounting for 20 percent or fewer of those who had signed up on the state-run health insurance exchange by the end of December. Now, state officials are rushing to expand marketing efforts and hire additional Spanish-speaking staff, hoping to sharply increase that number by March 31, when open enrollment in the new insurance plans ends.

“For the Affordable Care Act to work, everyone needs to get in. And if we’re relatively unsuccessful with a major segment of who should be getting insured, that would undoubtedly mean that we’re unsuccessful with the entire enterprise,” said Peter Lee, the executive director of Covered California, the state’s online health care marketplace. “We’re absolutely doubling down.”

Enrollment problems are playing out in other states with large Hispanic populations as well, including Arizona and Texas, counselors who work with immigrants said. But California stands out as the most troubling case, proponents of the law say, because it has the most Latinos of any state and has worked hard to enroll them.

For months leading up to the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, state officials conducted focus groups and drew up elaborate marketing plans, with groups spending more than $100 million to publicize the new law, including extensive Spanish-language campaigns. And while many Republicans and conservative state leaders have criticized the new health care system, polls show that Latinos embrace the change.

[reaganaut1]

What many of the uninsured want is free health care, not health insurance priced based on expected claims. The rhetoric of Obama and other Rats has convinced them that they are entitled to it.

[catnipman]

I doubt language is the issue. Hispanics are simply like everyone else: either they can’t afford the massive rate increases, or those who can know that obamacare is nothing more than grossly overpriced catastrophic-only, Medicaid-like “insurance”, and the rest simply want “free” medical care.

[zerosix]

The Hispanics not only do not care whether or not they have insurance because they are not about to bother making appointments with doctors. Why should they do something like that when all they are accustomed to doing is showing up at emergency rooms.

They show up and wait to be seen by whomever will see them, then they get whatever treatment they need, free of charge without bothering with any old insurance cards!, restrictions and especially not any silly old payments made by them!

[AU72]

Health Insurance?
We don't need any stinking Health Insurance!

[txrefugee]

They’ll keep going to the ER for free medical care,funded by taxpayers,who in many cases can’t afford ObamaCare. They aren’t as stupid as Democrats thought they are.i

[Mygirlsmom]

I realize that part of the reason is liability, but I often wonder why ER’s don’t have a corresponding 24 hr quick care clinic staffed with PA’s or nurse practitioners operating in the same area. You walk into the ER - receive a quick triage and all the sniffles and boo boos get shuffled to quick care.

[Vaduz]

Indeed plus the fact they don’t want to be pined down with their earnings status for tax reasons.
Just give the free stuff and leave us alone.

[moonshinner_09]

Why would most hispanics want to chat about Obamacare. The illegal ones can show up at any hospital and demand free medical care.The hospitals cannot chat with anybody about their status. All they can do is write the bill off.Why would they want to displace free medical care with medical care that requires them to pay money for it