The state of health care for Minnesota’s Latinos

Minnesota’s Latino population faces health risks made worse by lack of medical coverage for undocumented immigrants.>

One of the reasons often given for Minnesota’s consistently high rank in national health surveys is an above average percentage of residents covered by some form of health insurance. However, the percentage of uninsured has been creeping upward for several years. In fact, according to a study by the Minnesota Department of Health, the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and the Minnesota Department of Human Services, the state’s uninsured rate rose from 5.4 percent in 2001 to 6.7 percent in 2004. Fewer businesses providing coverage for their employees was cited as the primary reason for the increase. What this study did not take into consideration—and what is still going virtually unacknowledged in discussions about health care—is the number of uninsured immigrants in the state of Minnesota, both documented and undocumented, who would drive that percentage even higher if they were taken into account.”*

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