Clinton Health Plan Will Provide Quality Health Care and Coverage for Millions of Hispanics
Press Release
Clinton Health Plan Will Provide Quality Health Care and Coverage for Millions of Hispanics
Clinton Health Plan Will Reduce Health Disparities
Millions of Hispanics will benefit from the American Health Choices Plan released this week by Hillary Clinton. Out of any racial or ethnic group, Latinos have the highest rate of uninsured; the American Health Choices Plan will help millions of Latinos to have access to high quality, affordable health coverage. The plan will provide the 17.9 million Latinos with employer-sponsored coverage with more security and allow them to pay less and receive higher quality coverage. The plan will also fix the holes in the safety net for the 9.6 million Latinos participating in Medicaid, to ensure that they receive affordable, quality care.
In addition, the American Health Choices Plan will eliminate racial and ethnic disparities in health care, and increase diversity and cultural and linguistic competency in the health care system.
"I believe it is long past time that this nation had an answer to the health crisis that we face," said Hillary Clinton. "I believe America is ready for a change that will allow Latinos and indeed, all Americans to live longer, healthier lives."
The American Health Choices Plan creates a premium affordability tax credit that will ensure that no family has to choose between paying their mortgage and paying for health care. Insurance companies will no longer be allowed to deny coverage for a pre-existing or genetic condition. Under the Clinton plan, people who change jobs will not lose their healthcare coverage.
Specifically, the plan will:
* Allow everyone who is satisfied with their health care to keep it;
* Provide new options for those who are not insured or are not satisfied with their insurance;
* End insurance discrimination; and
* Allow consumers to keep their health coverage if they change jobs
The following report is one in a series that the campaign will release to demonstrate how Clinton's American Health Choices Plan will impact various communities.
The American Health Choices Plan:
Impact on Hispanics
On Monday, September 17, Hillary Clinton unveiled the American Health Choices Plan to provide affordable, high quality health insurance to the millions who are uninsured. There are 15.3 million uninsured Latinos in the U.S., and Latinos are the least likely to have insurance of any racial or ethnic group. As a result of the American Health Choices Plan, Latinos will be more likely to lead longer, healthier lives.
Guaranteed Health Care Coverage for All Latinos
* If you are one of the millions of Latinos without health insurance, this plan will provide high quality health care coverage at a cost you can afford. Under the American Health Services Plan, you will be able to buy into the same health insurance program Members of Congress have, which includes plans that cover prevention services that significantly increase the chance of catching diseases early, as well as mental health services and dental care in most cases. You will also have access to a new public option like Medicare.
* If you are one of the 17.9 million Latinos with employer-sponsored coverage, this plan will provide you with more security, and allow you to pay less and receive higher quality coverage. You will no longer have to worry about losing your coverage if you change jobs, and you will not be denied coverage based on a pre-existing or genetic condition. Insurance companies will have to renew each plan at price people can afford. Coverage will also be portable for those who change jobs, but want to maintain the same plan through the new menu of health choices.
* If you are one of the 9.6 million Latinos participating in Medicaid, this plan will fix the holes in the safety net to ensure that you receive affordable, quality care. Public hospitals and community health centers will also continue to receive support to serve vulnerable populations.
Universal Coverage: Our Best Weapon Against Racial Health Disparities
Senator Clinton's plan to ensure universal health coverage is vital to closing the disturbing racial and ethnic health disparities that are pervasive throughout our health care system. While many factors, such as the environment, contribute to the disparities in health outcomes, no factor matters more than access to health insurance. Disparities in health outcomes mirror disparities in health insurance coverage: about one third of all Hispanics and nearly one quarter of Hispanic children are without health insurance; on both counts, these are higher figures than those for any other racial or ethnic group. Approximately one-half of foreign-born Hispanics are uninsured. Hispanics are also least likely to have employer-sponsored coverage of any racial or ethnic group-only 40 percent of Hispanics have health insurance through their employers compared with 69 percent of non-Hispanic whites. Furthermore, as the Latino population has grown in the United States, the health coverage situation has deteriorated. Between 1994 and 2004, the number of Hispanics without a regular source of healthcare grew from 29 to 31 percent even though it shrank among every other ethnic and racial group.
As a result of limited access to health care:
* According to a 2007 national study of 46 different health care areassuch as receipt of mental health care, treatment of new AIDS cases, and the timely receipt of carethe quality of care for Latinos declined over recent years in 20 different categories, more than for any other ethnic group.
* 10 percent of Hispanics are diagnosed with diabetes compared to 6.5 percent of non-Hispanic whites. Hispanics are admitted to the hospital for uncontrolled diabetes at three times the rate of non-Hispanic whites.
* Mexican-Americans are 1.7 times more likely to contract diabetes than non-Hispanic whites, while Puerto Ricans are 1.8 times more likely to contract diabetes than non-Hispanic whites.
* Latinos are more than twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to contract HIV.
* While the infant death rate for Hispanic infants is less than the rate for non-Hispanic white infants, among Puerto Ricans, the rate of infant deaths from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is 1.5 times higher than non-Hispanic whites.
* Hispanics experience higher rates of obesity than non-Hispanic whites.
* The number of older Hispanics in good or excellent health is significantly lower than the number of older non-Hispanic whites. According to the 2004 National Health Interview Survey , 39% of non-Hispanic white adults aged 65 years or older reported very good or excellent health, compared with 29% of Hispanics.
* 77.5 percent of Hispanic mothers receive pre-natal care compared to 88.9 percent of non-Hispanic whites.
* Hispanic children are 5 percent less likely to be immunized than non-Hispanic white children.
* 43 percent of Hispanics reported never having a doctor visit over the previous 12 month periodcompared to 22.5 percent of non-Hispanic whites, and 33 percent of African-Americans.
* According to a 2006 Census Bureau report, two thirds of Hispanics did not take prescription medicines over the previous 12 month periodcompared to 44.6 percent of non-Hispanic white Americans.
* Hispanics are the least likely among all ethnic or racial groups to have had a dental visit in the last 12 months.
* Numerous recent studies have found that cultural and linguistic barriers may inhibit the utilization of health care services among Latinos.
* Hispanic women are at higher risk than non-Hispanic white women for some diseases such as cervical cancer and report starkly different health statusesamong older women, 42 percent of Hispanics reported poor' or fair' health status, compared to 27 percent of non-Hispanic whites.
Lower Cost and Better Care for Latino Families and Businesses
* Ensure Affordable Coverage - Health insurance premiums have skyrocketed over the last several years - nearly double since 2000 - while incomes have remained stagnant. The average income in Latino households today is roughly $37,700 compared with $52,423 for non-Hispanic whites, making it more difficult for Latinos to afford the care they need. In order to ensure that quality health care is affordable, Hillary's American Health Choices Plan creates a premium affordability tax credit that will ensure that no family has to choose between paying their mortgage and paying for health care. This tax credit will be refundable and based on income so that no one has to pay an unreasonable proportion of their income in health care premiums.
* Eliminate Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care - In 2006, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) found that, "Consistent with extensive research and findings disparities related to race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status still pervade the American health care system." The American Health Choices Plan encourages the development and testing of quality measures for use by doctors, hospitals, nursing homes and other providers, including measures targeted at eliminating racial and ethnic disparities in health care. It directs the Department of Health and Human Services to develop a uniform reporting format for the collection of quality information on race and ethnicity so that we can know the full extent of the problem and measure our progress in addressing it.
* Increase Diversity and Cultural and Linguistic Competency in the Health Care System - Numerous recent studies have found that some cultural and linguistic barriers may inhibit the utilization and receipt of health care services. Latinos are twice as likely to have never seen a doctor in the past year compared to non-Hispanic whites; access to care has been improving in recent years for all ethnic groups except Latinos. The American Health Choices Plan provides $50 million in federal funding for the development of culturally and linguistically competent clinical care programs to ensure that our healthcare providers can communicate with their patients and have training and skills to fully understand and respect cultural differences in the patients they serve. The plan addresses diversity and cultural competency in the healthcare workforce by providing opportunities and incentives to encourage greater diversity in our health care workforce through recruitment initiatives, scholarships and loan-forgiveness programs.
* Support for Small Businesses - The American Health Choices Plan recognizes the important role small businesses play in generating new jobs, particularly among Hispanics. Small businesses have created 80% of new jobs since 1990. One million six hundred thousand Hispanics own small businesses - a number that grew by 31 percent between 1997 and 2002, three times the national average. Because small businesses employ fewer people and have less purchasing power, they tend to have higher health care costs. As a result, many fewer small businesses than large businesses are able to make health care available. Under the American Health Choices Plan, small businesses that provide high quality health insurance will receive a significant tax credit (e.g. covering 50 percent of premiums). This will increase the competitiveness of small businesses and expand access to employer-based health coverage for Hispanics.
* Provide Better Care for the Chronically Ill - The American Health Choices Plan will promote innovative chronic care management programs to help those with the treatment of costly and complicated diseases like diabetes, which is more prevalent among Latinos than non-Hispanic whites. The American Health Choices plan will ensure higher quality and better coordination of care by using state-of-the-art chronic care coordination models within federally-funded programs to provide care for Americans afflicted with these costly, multi-faceted illnesses. This plan also creates a new Best Practices Institute, which will work as a partnership between the private sector and the already existing Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to fund research on the effectiveness of alternative treatments such as pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and surgeries.
* Expand coverage for dental care and mental health needs - Through the Health Choices Menu of Senator Clinton's plan, all Americans will be able to choose and afford an insurance plan that covers mental health services and dental care in most cases, just like the plans available to Members of Congress.
* Focus on Prevention - Only half of recommended clinical preventive services are provided to adults and less than half of adults had their doctors provide them advice on weight, nutrition, or exercise. Hispanics are particularly at risk for missing vital preventive care because in general they have less access to insurance and doctors visits. Thirty-one percent of Latinos report that they have no usual source of health caretwice as high as the rate for non-Hispanic whites. Hypertension contributes to 35 percent of all heart disease and dramatically increases the risk of stroke, yet only one in three people with this condition know it, despite the availability of simple, proven screening tests. Along with guaranteeing access to insurance throughout the system, the American Health Choices Plan ensures coverage of preventive care services that are proven and effective.
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