Cost of care, diabetes are top Latino health concerns

Jan 21 2014

Worries about being able to afford care and about diabetes were among the biggest health concerns among Latinos -- whether they were born in the U.S. or immigrated here, according to the latest survey by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. Other media outlets explore the limited options of those living in this country illegally. 

NPR: Taking The Pulse Of Latino Health Concerns
Latino immigrants to the U.S. say the quality and affordability of health care is better in the U.S. than the country they come from, according to the latest survey by NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health. But many report having health care problems. More than a third of immigrant respondents (31 percent) said they'd had a serious problem with being able to pay for health insurance in the past 12 months. ... the health issue that Latinos said is most concerning for them and their families -; whether they were born in the U.S. or immigrated here -; is diabetes (Neighmond, 1/21).

Los Angeles Times: Immigrants Without Legal Status Remain Mostly In Healthcare Limbo 
When Alva Alvarez gets sick, she buys over-the-counter medicine from the grocery and takes as much as she can until she feels better. The mother of five resorts to this because she can't afford a visit to the doctor to figure out what's ailing her. Although scenarios like this are supposed to disappear as millions of Americans become newly insured under the national healthcare law, Alvarez's situation isn't likely to improve and could get worse. The San Bernardino resident represents the biggest -; and mostly invisible -; group of people left out of the Affordable Care Act: immigrants in the country illegally (Karlamangla, 1/19).

The New York Times: Nonprofit Clinic Offers 'Bridges of Health' To Philadelphia's Illegal Immigrants
Like many other immigrants, Mery Martinez has no legal status in the United States, no health insurance and no money. But she does have leukemia, and has been struggling to find treatment for the disease ... With rising anxiety, and a rash that she attributed to her illness, Ms. Martinez walked into a clinic last week run by Puentes de Salud, a nonprofit group of doctors, nurses and medical students that provides primary care to Philadelphia's undocumented, uninsured and impoverished Latino immigrants. A co-founder, Dr. Steve Larson, said the organization distinguished itself from other community-health groups by addressing the underlying causes of illness, like poor nutrition, illiteracy or urban violence (Hurdle, 1/19).