U.s. Health Insurance Coverage

Many Latino focus group participants went without needed care because they were uninsured and could not afford the out‐of‐pocket costs ("Community Health Needs Assessment," 2012).

It is important to understand how the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act also know as the Affordable Care Act and usually referred to as the Obamacare affordable care act works and the functionality of it. The Affordable Care Act has insured over 20 million people, which was signed back in law in 2010 and signed by the 44th President Barack Obama. This paper will discuss various aspect of the Affordable Care Act, cultural assessment of the Hispanic group, and chapter six case study.

The United States has had an immigration issue for many years that serves some people, practically enslaves others and causes many others to get angry. Of course, this issue concerns illegal immigration and legal Hispanic farm workers. The population who is best served by the influx of workers are the farms in the central valley of California and other areas that use these individuals to harvest crops. The workers in the United States illegally are in constant fear of being discovered, and they are often exploited because of their immigration status. Legal citizens are, in large part, angry with the situation because of the cost incurred by so many people entering the country and not contributing to the tax burden imposed on citizens of the country. The issue for this paper though is what type of healthcare women in this situation are getting, and whether it is sufficient. This paper contends that this population is underserved for many reasons, and this group was chosen for that reason. One solution is to develop a cultural competence by understanding the population's culture, how they see healthcare workers, and to determine what their healthcare needs are.

Aspects of reproductive health that have reportedly resulted in harmful health outcomes include limited access to health services and insurance, a lack of understanding of medical terminology, reproductive health education, racial and gender bias in the medical field, and violations of reproductive rights (Paz & Massey, 2016). Findings like this illustrate the Latino Epidemiological Paradox and highlight healthcare disparities that have negative implications for Latinas’s overall health and rights. Studies like these highlight the prevailing racial narratives that persist in the 21st century and affect Latina’s perceptions of reproductive health services. For instance, Latinas are less likely than their white counterparts to rate their most recent productive health visit highly, alluding to quality and treatment disparities. Differences in service quality suggest biased medical treatment and a lack of patient communication toward marginalized women (Becker and Tsui, 2008, 202–204).

It is important to study the experiences that the Latino population go through when navigating the healthcare system because it will help to improve health disparities that exists within the healthcare system. This will eventually lead to create a better environment for non-U.S. born Latinos and U.S. born Latinos

In “Paradox found (again): Infant Mortality among the Mexican-origin population in the United States” (2007), Hummer and colleagues conducted a study to determine whether the epidemiologic paradox exist for Mexican-origin population of the united states with regard to one very well measured outcome: infant mortality. To assert, first they analyze data from the National center for health and statistics on 20 million cases of birth and 150,00 infant death using maternal identifications reported on birth certificate to calculate age specific infant mortality rate among Mexicans origin population. Secondly, they compare infants of U.S born (Mexican American) women as well as infants to foreign born groups such as non-Hispanic white, non- Hispanic

For many Latinos, they like a more to feel a more personal, welcoming doctor-patient relationship, they want to feel that the provider truly concerned for them as a whole. Since we all know how health care professionals are often rushing can makes the American healthcare system,look untrustworthy, in which doctors often rush visits and lack time to establish relationships with patients. Latino apprehension about healthcare goes deeper than issues of access. It also partially derives from a long history of preferring non-Western medicine, a cultural uneasiness with the American style of healthcare, and a tradition of privacy and individual pride that makes many Latinos believe we have no need to ask for help, and they don’t believe in being

But for the rest of the population substantial disparities still exist. This problem not only affects the uninsured population and the communities they live in, but the entire nation's economy. Dozens of hospitals in Texas, New Mexico Arizona, and California, have been forced to close or face bankruptcy because of federally mandated programs requiring hospitals to provide free emergency room services to illegal aliens. Safety net hospitals continue to operate under a heavy burden of providing care to this largely uninsured population (Torres, Steven, & Wallace, 2013). Having access to healthcare is a necessity in maintaining the good health of these undocumented immigrants. Several solutions have been proposed to overcome the barriers affecting undocumented immigrants. One solution would be to expand the coverage of the Affordable Health Care Act for this population. Another solution would be to approve an amnesty bill to alleviate the undocumented immigrants' situation in the United Sates, which would allow them to access public health

Latinos face many barriers that will also affect their process in seeking services. One of the barriers they face is due to their financial issues and transportation. (Bauer et al. 2000; Bell and Naugle 2005; Fugate et al. 2005; Lewis et al. 2005; Strube 1988 as cited in Mookerjee, Fernandez, & Chin, 2015). Not all Latinos have an income and are living in low income households. Also not having transportation to be able to seek those services is also a barrier for Latinos. Although public transportation is always something they may use, if they are low income some may not even have enough for that. They may be unemployed, and also lack insurance coverage. (Callejas et al. 2006; Bussing et al. 2003; Derose and Baker 2000; Garland et al. 2005;

African Americans, Mexican American, and Hispanics are the most common ethnicities to be affected by health disparities. African Americans and Mexican Americans are the top two races to be covered by Medicaid, yet still at a high risk to suffer from starvation, due to lack of income and resources. Medicaid is used to cover nearly two-thirds of pregnant African Americans and nearly half of the Hispanics. They suffer mostly due to lack of socioeconomic status and availability to receive insurance coverage.

Terminating the medical care inequalities gap is a problematic, multifaceted task. A study that surveyed 14 racial and ethnic minority subgroups determined that health inequalities could be constricted by providing minorities with better health care coverage, more adequate language skills and assistance, and higher incomes. However, the authors noted that other important factors such as biases, uncertainty in the provision of medical care, and stereotyping would also need to be covered. Ending the disparity gap is not only ethically and professionally imperative, it remains an obvious civil rights inequality that must be addressed. Since the 1990s, federal government, health insurers, and other stakeholders have taken an increased interest in addressing health care inequalities among Hispanics groups. For instance, the Healthy People 2010 initiative highlighted the elimination of racial and ethnic health disparities as a prominent public health goal for the next

In response to Sabrina Geneus I am in agreement with her comments regarding one subpopulation in the U.S which has currently has access to primary care are Hispanics. She also made interesting points regarding them which are true that Hispanics do not receive health care services of high quality because of their low socioeconomic status which includes low income, assets accumulation, low wage occupations and occupational characteristic. In addition, they also endure education attainment which is an obstacle to receive health care in a timely manner. Individuals who are face with low education may ruin their ability to understand clearly the health care delivery system, such as communicate with health care providers, and understand provider’s

Cultural, traditional, and religious values have an influence on health patterns and behaviors exhibited by the community. Hispanic culture is dominant due to the close proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border. Fifty-two percent of households use a language other than English at home (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015). Therefore, an understanding of Hispanic culture is necessary for health care workers to effectively care for patients in this community.

Federal and state legislations can deny undocumented individuals access to public benefits such as healthcare services, public assistance programs, and public housing. Policy research details how approximately fifty-one percent of undocumented individuals in California are uninsured and are excluded from private insurance plans that would allow them to access valuable health services (Wallace, Torres, Nobari, & Pourat, 2010). Undocumented women are disproportionally affected in accessing services related to reproductive health care as well as prenatal care, which can negatively impact their health. In her research, Marrows (2012) describes how uninsured rates remain high among undocumented individuals even in sanctuary cities such as San Francisco that practice “right-to-care” strategies, aiming to produce inclusivity, and that create public funds for immigrants. This is primarily due to a shortage of

The “Hispanic Paradox” Among women from rural communities, traditional lifeways (traditionalism) may promote certain healthy outcomes (Coe, Attakai, Papenfuss, Giuliano, Martin, & Nuvayestewa, 2004); by contrast, a loss of cultural traditions during the process of acculturative change may promote disease or disorder. Recent Hispanic health research has identified an Hispanic paradox among low-acculturated Hispanics/Latinos,1 that is characterized by unexpectedly lower rates of adverse health outcomes observed among the least acculturated Mexican immigrants relative to their more acculturated Mexican American peers. This paradox has been observed within three health-related areas: the perinatal health of Hispanic/Latina women, mortality rates