Expanding Access to Health Care for Hispanic Construction Workers and Their Children

Millions of Americans and their children lack health insurance. In 2006, more than 46 million (16 percent) of Americans were uninsured and more than 9 million of those uninsured were children (Appleby 2006). In the same year, only 59.5 percent of people received health insurance through their jobs. While the proportion of workers with job-based health insurance is falling, insurance premiums are increasing (Kaiser Family Foundation 2006). Moreover, research has found disparities in health status and access to health care among different racial and ethnic groups and socioeconomic circumstances (e.g., Egede 2006). This is especially true for Hispanics-the fastest-growing population in the United States, and the core of the debate over immigration policy.