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Language, region influence Hispanics’ Medicare experience

Newswise — Although they comprise the largest minority group in the United States, many of the nation’s 44.3 million Hispanics find they have problems navigating the health care system.

When it comes to getting access to care, Hispanics patients’ geographic region and language could play a significant role, according to a new study that examines language barriers and experiences of Spanish- and English-speaking Hispanics in Medicare managed care.

“Most studies tend to put all Hispanics together, but this attempts to look at regional differences as well,” said lead author Robert Weech-Maldonado, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

Based on a 2002 survey of 125,369 Medicare managed plan enrollees, 7 percent of whom identified themselves as Hispanics, the study appears in the latest issue of the journal Health Services Research.

Compared to whites enrolled in Medicare managed care, Spanish-speaking Hispanics reported less favorable experiences when communicating with health care providers or getting help from office staff. According to Weech-Maldonado, this finding suggests that the group faces more language barriers in clinical settings, such as doctor’s offices or hospitals.

However, when compared to English-speaking Hispanics, Spanish speakers reported an easier time dealing with the managed care aspects of the health care system, such as getting needed care and dealing with customer service.

The findings also suggested regional variations in enrollees’ access to care, with Spanish-speaking Hispanics in Florida reporting experiences similar to or better than English-speaking Hispanics in all aspects of care, a finding that did not occur in Spanish-speaking Hispanics in California or the New York/New Jersey region.

The fact that Spanish speakers in Florida report better access to care comes as no surprise, said Luisa Borrell, Ph.D. of Columbia University, given that most of the Spanish speakers surveyed were from Miami, a city with a well-developed Spanish-speaking community of providers.

Ultimately, this study suggests that health care providers need to pay greater attention to providing interpreter services to consumers “not only because it’s the right thing to do, but because it can impact patient reports of care and ultimately can influence quality of care,” Weech-Maldonado said.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Institute of Aging, and the National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities supported the research.

Health Services Research is the official journal of AcademyHealth and is published by Blackwell Publishing on behalf of the Health Research and Educational Trust. Contact Jennifer Shaw, HSR Business Manager, at (312) 422-2646 or jshaw@aha.org. HSR is available online at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/loi/hesr.

Weech-Maldonado R., et al. Language and regional differences in evaluations of Medicare managed care by Hispanics. Health Services Research online, 2007.