residents have no usual health care provider. More than one-fourth (28%) of the people in this group indicate that financial limitations prevent them from having a usual provider – 17% report that their lack of insurance is the primary reason, while 12% cite high medical costs in general. However, a majority (56%) say they do not have a usual provider because they simply do not need one. An additional 5% state that difficulty in navigating the U.S. health care system prevents them from having a usual provider. According to Pew Hispanic Center estimates, 11.9 million undocumented immigrants were living in the U.S. in 2008. Three-quarters (76%) of these undocumented immigrants were Latinos.
Regarding health status, the study reports that the Latino population in the U.S. is relatively young, and Latino adults who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents are younger still. Some 43% of adult Latinos who are not citizens or legal permanent residents are younger than age 30, compared with 27% of Hispanic adults who are citizens or legal permanent residents and 22% of the adult U.S. population. The youthfulness of this population contributes to its relative healthiness.
About the Hispanic experiences in the Health Care System, the Pew reports that three-fourths (76%) of Latino adults who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents report that the quality of medical care they received in the past year was excellent or good. This is similar to the proportion of adult Latino citizens and legal permanent residents (78%) who express satisfaction with their recent health care. However, when asked a separate question – whether they had received any poor medical treatment in the past five years – adult Latinos who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents are less likely (16%) to report any problems than are Latinos who are citizens or legal permanent residents (24%).
Among those Latinos who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents who report receiving poor medical treatment in the past five years, a plurality (46%) state that they believed their accent or the way they spoke English contributed to that poor care. A similar share (43%) believed that their inability to pay for care contributed to their poor treatment. More than one-third (37%) felt that their race or ethnicity played a part in their poor care, and one-fourth (25%) attributed the unsatisfactory treatment to something in their medical history.
Q. What is the difference in viewpoint between young Hispanics or Latinos born and raised in the United States, and their older parents or grandparents who migrated to the U.S. from other countries?
A. The one difference that applies to all Latinos existent between non and semi-acculturated Hispanics and fully-acculturated or U.S. born Hispanics (young or old) is that whereas the non and semi-acculturated Latinos are trying to learn how to navigate the American culture, the U.S. born Hispanics or fully-acculturated know how to navigate the American culture and “learn” to navigate the Hispanic one from their family.
Q. Who are people on the rise in the Hispanic or Latino community that may become corporate leaders, or the next Sonia Sotomayor?
A. There are many Hispanics on the rise in every walk of life in the United States. Some people may not even notice of their Hispanic background because it usually comes to light when there are political issues at stake. For example, a currently retired doctor that was the Director of Cardiology of the St. Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta was originally from Argentina. The creative that many years ago came up with the successful campaign for a drug that put the country to sleep is a Nuyorican (Puerto Rican born in New York).
Regarding known Latinos on the rise, you may want to keep an eye on Christine Arguello, Judge, U.S. District Court, Colorado; Emiliano Calemzuk, President, Fox Television Studios; Ignacia Moreno, Counsel, Corporate Environmental Programs, General Electric Company; Esther Salas, U.S. Magistrate Judge, District of New Jersey; Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF); Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor; Rosa Gumatatotao Rios, United States Treasurer; Elena Rios, President & CEO, National Hispanic Medical Foundation; Enrique Conterno; President, Eli Lilly, USA and Edward Chavez, Justice, the State of New Mexico Supreme Court, among many others.
Q. What should everyone know about Hispanics or Latinos?
A. The first thing that comes to mind is the very little known fact that 6 out of 10 Latinos are U.S. born. The second one is that the younger the generation, the higher the percentage of Hispanics in it. It is imperative to understand the new U.S. demographics when developing business strategies, city planning, new products, etc.
About Claudia Goffan: Recognized as an expert in Latino Marketing by CNN en Español, Claudia has been featured in Adweek, Hispanic Business, Univision, Telemundo and other national and international media.
A native from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Claudia has been very influential in the Hispanic markets in the U.S. and Latin America – both from a business and a community standpoint – always with outstanding results. Claudia has contributed to companies such as, The Occasions Group, The Taylor Corporation, El Banco de Nuestra Comunidad (A division of SunTrust Bank), XEROX, AT&T, BellSouth, Citibank, Papa John’s, Liberty Mutual, British Telecom, Gold’s Gym, Sherwin Williams, and Verizon, among others.
A motivator, strategic and hands-on, innovative, creative and resourceful. It has been said that her humor and presence immediately captivate audiences. She has an MBA from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina and from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and more than 20 years specializing in Marketing and Strategic Planning both internationally and domestically. She is bilingual and bicultural in English and Spanish and fluent in Portuguese, French, and Italian.
About Target Latino: Target Latino was founded in 2003, with a vision unparalleled at the time – to show American companies the importance of the U.S. Hispanic market – not by preaching but by acting. Target Latino is a marketing consulting firm specializing in the Hispanic market. Target Latino increases the effectiveness of its clients marketing and advertising dollars by creating innovative approaches to acquire and retain Hispanic customers. Target Latino has a long standing experience of driving results in tough economic times. Target Latino is minority owned, and a percentage of its proceeds go to different charity causes.
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