Hispanic and African American adults are uninsured at rates 1 1/2 to three times higher than whites

Sixty-two percent of working-age Hispanics were uninsured during year

New York, NY, August 1, 2006 -- Hispanic and African American working-age adults in the U.S. are at greater risk of experiencing gaps in insurance coverage, lacking access to health care, and facing medical debt than white working-age adults, according to a new report from The Commonwealth Fund.

Sixty-two percent of Hispanic adults ages 19 to 64--an estimated 15 million adults--were uninsured at some point during the year, a rate more than three times as high as that for white working-age adults (20%). Uninsured rates for working-age African-American adults are also high, with one-third (33%)--more than 6 million adults--uninsured or experiencing a gap in coverage during the year.

Uninsured rates for low-income Hispanics are exceptionally high: three-quarters (76%) of Hispanic adults with incomes below 200% of the federal poverty level had a time uninsured, compared to 44% of African Americans and 46% of whites with low incomes. Disparities persist across income levels--forty percent of Hispanic adults with incomes over 200% of poverty were uninsured during the year, compared to about one-quarter (23%) of African American adults and 12 percent of white adults in that income group.