Latinos Have Made Coverage Gains but Millions Are Still Uninsured

Since the ACA’s health insurance marketplaces opened and states began to expand Medicaid eligibility, uninsured rates among Latinos have begun to decline for the first time in decades. Studies of the effects of health insurance suggest that these higher coverage rates will contribute to better access to care, increased use of preventive services, better management of chronic illness and, eventually, longer and healthier lives for many Latinos. Despite these historic declines in the number of uninsured, the Commonwealth Fund Biennial Health Insurance Survey finds Latinos continue to have the highest uninsured rates among major U.S. racial or ethnic groups.