Healthcare Delivery and Healthcare Coverage: Their Impact on Latinxs’ Self-Perception of Health

Latinxs tend to self-rate their health as poorer when compared to whites. There is a gap in research on what factors, beyond physical and socio-demographics, impact how Latinxs self-rate their health. This study aims to fill that gap by analyzing how factors in healthcare delivery impact Latinxs’ self-rated health. This study specifically analyzes how quality of care, continuity of care, quality of doctor, and type of health coverage (private insurance and Medicaid) impact Latinxs’ self-rated health. Using a public health CRT approach, the study examines the importance of race to self-rated health and accounts that being Latinx carries a different experience in healthcare institutions. The statistical analysis was done using multivariate hierarchical regression. The findings in the first analysis show that race is a significant factor to self-rated health. The findings in the second analysis show that while controlling for age, gender, marital status, education, employment, and chronic health conditions, quality of care and Medicaid are statistically significant. A low quality of care and Medicaid negatively impact Latinxs’ self-rated health. These findings challenge the neutrality of healthcare micro-structures. Policy recommendations call for the ACA of 2010 to focus on the quality of different structures within healthcare institutions and also acknowledge the quality of health insurance to decrease health disparities.