The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #64188

Margaret A. Laws, MPP, Director of Policy and Planning, California HealthCare Foundation, 476 Ninth Street, Oakland, CA 94117, 510-238-1040, mlaws@chcf.org

California is home to more than 8.4 million people of Mexican origin, 3.7 million of whom were born in Mexico. The Mexican-origin group represents more than 25% of the total population and 77% of Latinos in California. Overall, California Latinos face disproportionately low access to health care. Latinos in California are much more likely to be uninsured than non-Latinos: approximately 33% vs. approximately 12%. Only 48% of Latinos, vs. 71% of non-Latinos in California have employer-based insurance.

Many Latinos are eligible for public coverage but do not enroll (estimates identify more than 300,000 California children in this category), and several government-funded and private programs in California offer insurance or health coverage for undocumented residents. Over the past two years, several of the commercial plans in California have piloted or begun development of bi-national or Latino-focused insurance products.

This session will describe strategies used in California to improve access to health insurance and health coverage for the Mexican-origin populations, including: exploration of bi-national or cross-border insurance products; bi-national convenings of health insurance and health sector leaders; referral and outreach programs conducted in partnership with Mexican Consulates; and multiple efforts to improve information and education about available coverage programs and eligibility requirements.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to:
• - describe the insurance coverage options currently available to mexican-origin immigrants in California
• - recognize barriers to enrollment in health insurance programs for mexican-origin immigrants
• - discuss strategies for more effective outreach on insurance issues with this population
• - discuss efforts to date to develop CA/Mexico bi-national health insurance programs

Keywords: Insurance, Migrant Health

Related Web page: www.ucop.edu/cprc/cmhi.html

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: The foundation for which I work was one of the initial funders of the California-Mexico Health Initiative