In This Report:
Key Findings
- In 2019, 3.88 million Latino parents and 1.83 million Latino children were uninsured.
- Together, California, Florida, and Texas account for 2.08 million uninsured Latino parents; and over 1.05 million uninsured Latino children.
- Latino children and parents are disproportionately likely to be uninsured across the country, but the coverage gaps are wider and growing faster in states that have yet to adopt Medicaid expansion.
- For example, though California, Florida, and Texas are all home to a large number of uninsured Latino parents and children, Latino parents and children are much more likely to be covered in California than in Florida or Texas. In California, 18.0 percent of Latino parents are uninsured, compared to 25.9 percent in Florida and 41.3 percent in Texas. For Latino children, California has an uninsured rate of 4.7 percent as opposed to 9.5 percent and 17.7 percent in Florida and Texas respectively.
- State policymakers have a responsibility to advance health equity by adopting Medicaid expansion and narrowing coverage gaps between Latino and non-Latino parents and children in their state.
Introduction
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has lowered the uninsured rate for children and families nationally, but its impact varies across the country based on whether a state has adopted the ACA’s Medicaid expansion to cover more adults.1 For Latino children and families, Medicaid serves an especially important role; while Latinos are more likely to participate in the workforce than non-Latinos,2 they are less likely to have employer-sponsored insurance.3
As of May 2021, 37 states have implemented the Medicaid expansion, two states have adopted but not yet implemented, and 12 states have yet to adopt.4 In this brief, we show that adopting the Medicaid expansion in these 12 states would help narrow coverage gaps for Latino children and families. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated longstanding health disparities for Latinos and other communities of color. As policymakers consider how to design a more equitable health system, Medicaid expansion is one key lever already at states’ disposal.
Uninsured Rates
Hover over the maps below to see the uninsured rate for Latino children and parents across the country.
Latino Child Uninsured Rate by State, 2019
Latino Parent Uninsured Rate by State, 2019
Full Report
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Medicaid Expansion Could Narrow Health Coverage Gaps for Latino Families
