Last fall, Republicans were absolutely thrilled with the disastrous Healthcare.gov rollout. They were so pleased, they even
ran a victory lap, claiming that the broken website was going to make Latinos flock to the GOP. Flash forward 10 months, and what's the news?
That's right, Latinos—who have had the highest uninsured rates of any racial or ethnic group—are another Obamacare success story. A
new survey by the Commonwealth Fund found a drop in Latino uninsured rates from 36 percent to 23 percent from the summer of 2013 to spring, 2014.
The news isn't all good, though.
The report, Catching Up: Latino Health Coverage Gains and Challenges Under the Affordable Care Act, Results from the Commonwealth Fund Affordable Care Act Tracking Survey, found that there are stark differences in Latino uninsured rates in states that have expanded Medicaid and those that have not. In the 25 states and District of Columbia that had expanded Medicaid by the time of the survey, the uninsured rate for Latinos fell from 35 percent to 17 percent. In states not expanding Medicaid, the uninsured rate for Latinos remained largely unchanged at 33 percent. The report notes that 20 million Latinos live in these states, the majority in Texas and Florida.
Eighty percent of Latinos who remained uninsured after the first open enrollment are ages 19 to 49, and 60 percent have incomes that would enable them to qualify for Medicaid provided their state decides to expand the program. About 16 percent of Latinos who remain uninsured are likely still ineligible for the law’s coverage options due to their immigration status.
To put that in perspective, California not only expanded Medicaid, but focused efforts on getting the Latino population to sign up. The uninsured rate among Latinos there was cut in half. In Texas and Florida, which not only refused Medicaid expansion but worked hard to make the enrollment process a failure, the rates remained pretty much static. That's sure not going to drive Latinos into the Republican camp.