Center for Studying Health System Change

Providing Insights that Contribute to Better Health Policy

Search:     
 

Insurance Coverage & Costs Access to Care Uninsured and Low-Income Racial/Ethnic Disparities Safety Net Providers Community Health Centers Hospitals Physicians Insured People Quality & Care Delivery Health Care Markets Issue Briefs Data Bulletins Research Briefs Policy Analyses Community Reports Journal Articles Other Publications Surveys Site Visits Design and Methods Data Files


Why Do Hispanics Have So Little Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance?

Fall 2007
Inquiry, Vol. 44
James D. Reschovsky, Jack Hadley, Len M. Nichols

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. Spanishspeakers’ 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.

This article is available at the Inquiry Web site. (Subscription required.)

A technical appendix accompanies this article. It can be accessed by clicking here.

 

 


 

Back to Top
 
Site Last Updated: 9/15/2014             Privacy Policy
The Center for Studying Health System Change Ceased operation on Dec. 31, 2013.