State’s minorities don’t benefit in health coverage, UCLA study says

By Michelle Kroes
Daily Bruin Contributor

Minorities benefitted less than whites from the state’s
economic boom in the realm of health insurance, a UCLA study
reported.

Despite the drop in the number of uninsured Californians with
the rising economy in 1999, recent data collected from UCLA Center
for Health Policy Research found that there has been little or no
increase in overall health coverage for California’s
minorities since 1994.

The five-year study, funded by the California Wellness
Foundation, “The State of Health Insurance in California:
Recent Trends, Future Prospects,” details the disparity in
coverage.

The details reveal that compared to 13 percent of whites without
coverage, 36 percent of Latinos, 22 percent of African Americans,
and 23 percent of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders are
uninsured.

“These findings show that in spite of a gain in rates
statewide, many minorities are not benefitting from health
insurance coverage. This means that to be poor and non-white is to
be at risk for health problems and early death,” said Ruth
Brousseau, senior program officer at the California Wellness
Foundation.

The study also showed that 72 percent of whites had job-based
insurance compared to only 43 percent of Latinos, 63 percent of
Asian Americans, and 59 percent of African Americans in 1999.

Although rates for Latinos show an increase in job-based
insurance since 1994, the report found that Medi-Cal coverage
declined from 22 percent to 17 percent during that period, leaving
Latinos’ overall coverage rates unchanged.

The report indicates that the decline in Medi-Cal is due to
changes in welfare reform instituted in 1996. The combination of
welfare reforms’ limits on public assistance and added
restrictions on immigrants pushed many recipients into entry-level
jobs that paid low wages and did not offer health benefits,
according to the report.

Additionally, the stigma of a welfare office interview required
for eligibility has kept minorities from seeking Medi-Cal coverage
even when they are eligible.

The report recommends simplifying the application process to
reconcile coverage differences.

According to the report, this could greatly improve health
insurance to include more Californians. Other possible solutions
given include outreach programs and expanding Medi-Cal to cover
parents up to 250 percent of the federal poverty level, which could
cover up to 518,000 more uninsured parents.

The large racial and ethnic disparities in health insurance
coverage is an issue that affects all Californians, said Ninez
Ponce, a senior researcher of the Center for Health Policy Research
and health professor at UCLA.

“Many people are not getting access to health insurance
coverage in spite of eligibility so many of them cannot be
appropriately treated when they are in need … and this also
includes their children,” Ponce said.