Hispanic Immigrants More Likely To Be Uninsured Than US Born Latinos, Study Finds

New figures released by the Census Bureau suggest that Hispanic immigrants are significantly more likely to be uninsured than Hispanics born in the United States. According to the figures, as reported by Pew Research Center, Hispanic immigrants are more than twice as likely to be uninsure. The data from the Current Population Survey’s March 2014 Annual Social and Economic Supplement found that 25 percent of Hispanics lack health insurance, which is much higher than the national average of 14 percent.

Of the Hispanics without health insurance, a whopping 7 million are immigrants and 6 million are born in the United States. Counting their individual populations as a whole, this makes 39 percent of Hispanic immigrants uninsured and 17 percent of US-born Hispanics without insurance. And among those without American citizenship, the statistics show 49 percent lack insurance.

When you think of the Hispanic and Latino community in the United States, one of the first social issues that pops into mind is immigration reform. And while it may be a pressing issue that gets a great deal of media coverage, the Pew Research Center has found in a recent survey the most pressing issue in the Hispanic community is education, followed by jobs and the economy and healthcare.