December 08, 2014
By Troy Wilde.
SALT LAKE CITY – There’s a growing focus by some Utah organizations to reach out to the state’s Hispanic population in hopes of increasing their health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act. Randal Serr, director with Take Care Utah, which helps enroll people in the ACA, says his organization is marketing on Spanish-speaking television, radio, and doing on-the-ground outreach as well.
“We’re going to be working more closely with chambers of commerce, with consulates, community groups, those sorts of things,” Serr says. “We’re really just dumping more resources into finding the uninsured Hispanic population and helping them enroll.”
A report this fall from the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families found Utah’s uninsured rate for Hispanic children is 22 percent, while the overall rate of uninsured children in the state is 10 percent. The numbers mean 34,000 Hispanic children in Utah don’t have health insurance.
Serr says the marketing efforts are the result of input and partnerships within the Hispanic community.
“We got together with a group of Hispanic community leaders to kind of brainstorm about what we missed out on in year one,” he says. “Who should be at the table, how these leaders can help us.”
Serr says Medicaid expansion or Gov. Gary Herbert’s proposed Healthy Utah Plan could also help thousands more people get insurance.
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