Latino children lag in health insurance
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Latino children in the U.S. are twice as likely to be uninsured as non-Latino children, according to an analysis by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families.
Why it matters: More than 1.8 million Latino children in the U.S. have not had health insurance since before the pandemic, putting them at greater risk for COVID-19. The virus has hit Latinos especially hard, resulting in higher infection rates, hospitalizations and unemployment.
- Over a third of minors who’ve died of coronavirus were Hispanic or Latino, per CDC data.
- In a study, three out of four children hospitalized last year with severe cases of COVID-19 were Black or Hispanic.
The big picture: Children’s coverage has been getting worse in states like Texas that did not expand Medicaid access to low-income people through the Affordable Care Act. Almost 18% of Latino children in Texas were uninsured in 2019, the highest statewide rate.
- Overall, Latinos of all ages in the U.S. are about three times as likely to be uninsured as non-Hispanic white Americans.
