THE EXTENT OF PRIVATE AND PUBLIC-HEALTH INSURANCE-COVERAGE AMONG ADULT HISPANICS

Data from the Health and Retirement Survey reveal extremely low levels of health insurance coverage among Hispanics and, especially, among M exican Americans. The data reveal that this lack of insurance is assoc iated with lower rates of employer-based and privately purchased cover age. Even after controlling for a large number of insurance-related fa ctors, Hispanics have rates of health insurance coverage that are lowe r than those of either non-Hispanic blacks or whites. This serious lac k of health insurance coverage among preretirement-age Hispanics has s erious implications both for health, because the lack of insurance rep resents a major barrier to health care, and for the adequacy of retire ment coverage, because private insurance represents an important suppl ement to Medicare.