Surgeon General Has ‘Shone a Welcome Spotlight’ on Disparities in Latino Health Care, Editorial States
U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona has "shone a welcome spotlight" on disparities in health care for Latinos, who "for too long have been a footnote in health surveys and statistics," according to a San Jose Mercury News editorial (San Jose Mercury News, 2/2). At a Latino Coalition for a Healthy California symposium last month at the University of San Diego, Carmona said that he will work to address health care disparities in the Latino community. One in four Latinos nationwide does not have health insurance, and the group has a high rate of preventable diseases, such as diabetes and obesity, Carmona said. He said that he plans to focus on health care issues faced by residents on the U.S.-Mexico border, where many of the nation's 37 million Latinos reside (California Healthline, 1/27). Carmona also promised that a number of new federal health care centers will open in the next few years, the editorial states, adding, "They will be especially important since California is trimming half a million people from Medi-Cal." According to the editorial, Latinos account for about half of the state's 4.5 million uninsured residents, and "California's decreasing levels of private and public health insurance will hit them hard." The editorial concludes, "Carmona's focus on the health needs of our largest -- and fastest growing -- minority is thus all the more important" (San Jose Mercury News, 2/2).
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