Why do Hispanics have so little employer-sponsored health insurance?
This paper investigates low rates of employer health insurance coverage among Hispanics using national data from the Community Tracking Study Household Survey. Interview language served as a proxy for the degree of assimilation. Findings indicate that English-speaking Hispanics are more similar to whites in their labor market experiences and coverage than they are to Spanish-speaking Hispanics. Spanish-speakers' very low human capital (including their inability to speak English) results in much less access to job-based insurance. Though less important, Spanish-speaking Hispanics' demand for employer-sponsored insurance appears lower than that of English-speaking Hispanics or whites. Results suggest that language and job training may be the most effective way to bolster Hispanics' insurance coverage.
Center for Studying Health System Change, Washington, DC 20024, USA. jreschovsky@hschange.org
James D
JD
Reschovsky
Jack
J
Hadley
Len
L
Nichols
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003625:Data Collection; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006264:Health Benefit Plans, Employee / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017057:Medically Uninsured / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D011050:Policy Making; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits / Q000639:trends; D014481:United States