Health Care Access Among Latinos: Implications for Social and Health Care Reforms

Abstract

According to the Institute of Medicine, health care access is defined as “the degree to which people are able to obtain appropriate care from the health care system in a timely manner.” Two key components of health care access are medical insurance and having access to a usual source of health care. Recent national data show that 34% of Latino individuals do not have health insurance and 27% do not have access to a usual source of health care. This article identifies barriers and solutions for improving health care access among Latino individuals.