Study Finds Wide Gap in Health Care Coverage Among Asian-Americans
Korean-Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders are twice as likely to be uninsured as whites, according to a study of Asian-Americans that the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum released Tuesday, the Sacramento Bee reports.
These Asian ethnic groups "are doing much worse than other subgroups in terms of health insurance and access to care," the study states.
Nationwide, the study found uninsured rates of:
- 24% among nonelderly Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders;
- 21% among Vietnamese;
- 14% among Filipinos; and
- 12% among Japanese and Indian-Americans.
Cara James, a Kaiser Family Foundation senior policy analyst for race and ethnicity, added that 31% of nonelderly Korean-Americans are uninsured, compared to 12% of non-Hispanic whites and 17% of Asian-Americans overall.
James said the disparity is particularly acute in California.
Deanna Jang of the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum said many of the state's uninsured Asian-Americans are eligible to obtain care from community clinics or through Healthy Families, California's version of the State Children's Health Insurance Program.
"Either they don't know how to access it or are afraid to access it because of their immigration status," Jang said (Magagnini, Sacramento Bee, 4/2).