Latinos have Gained Protection from Unaffordable Health Care Costs, but More Help is Needed
More than 9 million uninsured Latinos have secured health insurance today, thanks to opportunities created by the Affordable Care Act, the Inflation Reduction Act, and other recent federal policies.
The Inflation Reduction Act also cut the cost of insulin to $35 for people covered through Medicare, providing a lifeline to Hispanic seniors who struggle with diabetes.
But more is needed. 10 million Latinos remain uninsured, which prevents them from getting care and leaves them without any protection from unaffordable health care costs. Millions of other Latinos have health insurance, but face deductibles so high they can’t afford to get health care. And millions of Latinos too young for Medicare still face prescription drug costs that are completely out of control.
To build on recent progress and further protect Latinos from unaffordable health care costs, our country’s leaders must enact new policies that achieve several goals:
- Help eligible Latinos enroll in health care by cutting paperwork and providing trusted community agencies with resources needed to help families obtain and keep coverage.
- End arbitrary barriers that today deny health care to millions of poor Latinos who live in states like Texas and Florida that refuse federal money to expand Medicaid, as well as to immigrants throughout the country.
- Lower the barriers presented by high deductibles by such steps as providing financial assistance to low-wage workers struggling with sky-high deductibles
- Extend to all Americans the same protections that now shield Medicare beneficiaries from unaffordable prescription drug costs.
Above all, federal policymakers must fiercely resist efforts to move America backwards. That starts with making permanent the financial assistance that now helps millions of Latinos and other Americans buy their own health insurance in the Affordable Care Act Marketplace.
unidosus_latinoshavegainedprotectionfromunaffordablehealthcarecostsbutmorehelpisneeded.pdf
