English Proficiency and Access to Health Insurance in Hispanics Who are Elderly: Implications for Adequate Health Care

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2-1-2006

Keywords

Health care disparities, Health insurance access, Language proficiency and health care, Mexican Americans and Medicare, Older adults

Abstract

Medicare, as a publicly funded insurance program, has produced significant improvement in the overall health of America's elderly populations. However, health disparities still persist between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White populations in terms of overall access to health services. This study utilized data from the Hispanic Established Population for Epidemiological Studies of the Elderly (H-EPESE) survey (1993 to 1994), to compare the relationship between levels of English proficiency and access to Medicare and other health insurance among 3.050 Hispanics who were elderly. Results of chi-square tests of independence indicated a significant relationship (p = .001) between respondents' levels of English proficiency and access to Medicare and other health insurance. Implications regarding the impact of limited English proficiency on access to adequate health care for Hispanics who are elderly are discussed. © 2006 Sage Publicution.

Journal Title

Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences

Volume

28

Issue

1

First Page

143

Last Page

152

DOI

10.1177/0739986305284018

First Department

Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology

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@ the James White Library

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