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ACP-ASIM Pressroom
Illinois' Latinos Facing Health Crisis Due To Lack Of Access,
Language/
Cultural Barriers
Presidential Candidates Urged to Address Health Crisis
Sept. 7, 2000
Chicago—Illinois' Latino population is facing a health care crisis that
threatens to grow much worse in the near future, according to the
consensus reached today at a symposium sponsored by the American College
of Physicians - American Society of Internal Medicine, the National
Hispanic Medical Association, and the Commonwealth Fund. The symposium
brought together health care providers, politicians, and business leaders
to discuss the current problems facing uninsured Latinos and suggest
solutions.
Latinos make up 26 percent of Chicago's under 65 population, but they
account for 43 percent of the city's uninsured. Between 1997 and 1998, the
number of uninsured people in greater-Chicago increased by 30 percent.
"A lack of insurance puts Latinos at great risk because they do not
receive routine preventive care that often results in greater
complications or worse symptoms from easily treated diseases such as
diabetes, asthma, or hypertension," said Sandra Adamson Fryhofer, MD,
FACP, president of the ACP-ASIM. "For example, incidences of
diabetes-related end-stage renal disease in the Latino population is up to
six times greater than in the non-Latino white population."
The symposium highlighted the fact that 15 percent of Illinois'
population lacks insurance. Yet 8 out of 10 of these people come from
working families.
The symposium identified a number of current barriers to health care
for Latinos including:
- Latinos tend to work for small, low-wage businesses that do not
offer insurance.
- Individual insurance is prohibitively expensive.
- Not enough information is available about currently existing
programs, such as the state's Children's Health Insurance Program
(CHIP).
- Cultural and linguistic barriers exist both in interactions with
physicians and the paperwork required for public assistance.
- Latinos are concerned about being labeled a public charge if they
use public assistance.
Some possible solutions identified by the symposium
included:
- Expand outreach for public programs including better dissemination
of information on existing programs encouraging enrollment and
decreasing barriers.
- Use government incentives to encourage businesses (especially small
businesses) to offer coverage.
- Examine creative solutions from insurance companies such as offering
more affordable packages that focus on preventive care.
- Train more Spanish-speaking physicians and encourage the use of
translators at physician offices.
"We urge America's political leaders to commit themselves to
undertaking a series of sequential steps that will lead to health
insurance for all Americans," said Dr. Fryhofer. "In these prosperous
times, we must make sure no American suffers or dies needlessly due to a
lack of access to health care."
ACP-ASIM is the nation's largest medical specialty organization and the
second largest physician group. Membership comprises more than 115,000
internal medicine physicians and medical students.
Editor's note: The ACP-ASIM report "No Health Insurance?
It's Enough to Make You Sick: Latino Community at Great" risk can be found
in English and Spanish at www.acponline.org/uninsured
Contact:
- Jack E. Pope, ACP-ASIM Washington Office, 202-261-4556
- David Edelson, ACP-ASIM Washington Office, 202 261-4575
- Carolyn Albert, ACP-ASIM Washington Office, 202-261-4572
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